


Fragments

by sombreromoustache



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Amputee Peridot (Steven Universe), Bilingual Character(s), Drill Sergeant, Drinking, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Human Gems (Steven Universe), Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, Non-Linear Narrative, Prosthetic Limbs, Relationship Problems, Showers, Therapy, Video & Computer Games
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2018-10-19 22:05:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 67,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10648983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sombreromoustache/pseuds/sombreromoustache
Summary: Peridot Olivine and Lapis Lazuli, two young women with personal issues that affect themselves and each other, attempt to help themselves as their lives move forward.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I have posted this on FFNet, but I decided to post it here since the Steven Universe Fandom is more active on AO3 than in the Pit.  
> So congrats. You guys get five chapters in one day! Huzzah!  
> Also, I will add to the tags as I go on. I'm still new to AO3, and I don't want to spoil the story with the tags.

**Middle School - Eighth Grade ******  


* * *

A new school with unfamiliar faces, uncomfortable desks, and the uninteresting atmosphere wasn't new to Lapis Lazuli. She could not find anything in her class that she hadn't seen before, leaving her insanely bored and disinterested in the world around her. She only stared ahead, scratching her blue-dyed hair.

Her trance was broken by the random tapping on her shoulders. She looked behind her desk and saw a bespectacled girl with wide eyes looking at her, "Um, hi."

Lapis blinked, and turned away from her, "Wait! I wanted to ask you, uh. I wanted to know if you dyed your hair blue?"

"I did," she answered, not turning back to face her.

The blonde muttered to herself, "So, the school lets you dye it?"

"It's for religious reasons," she lied. She hated her natural hair color, so she lied to the officials of every school she went to that it was dyed to mourn a father that was very much alive.

"Oh," Lapis hoped this would end their conversation, and she could resume her meditation of apathy. Again she felt her shoulders getting tapped, and looked back at the green-eyed girl, "Um, do you, uh-

Lapis rubbed her eyes before glaring at the girl, "What do you want? I'm trying to get some sleep I-

She looked down at a booklet with a cat-like creature on the cover. She stared it for a few seconds before shifting glances to the girl, "Um, do you like Klonoa?"

Lapis raised her eyebrows in confusion, "What's a Klonoa?" she asked, attempting to match how the girl pronounced the strange word.

She was disappointed with this answer, but still kept a hopeful smile on her face, "It's a video game where you play as this guy, his name's Klonoa and-

"Sorry, I don't really play video games," Lapis interrupted her.

"Oh," she muttered, "Um, well my name's Peridot! Peridot-

"Peridot! If you don't mind, we're in the middle of class!" the teacher admonished her, "Now pay attention.

She looked down at her desk in shame, avoiding eye contact with the rest of her class that had started staring at her. She looked on the floor for the booklet, getting nervous as she started thinking if she lost it.

For the rest of class Peridot couldn't stop thinking about how she might have lost the booklet to one of her favorite games. Every half-minute, she looked around the desks trying to find anything that vaguely resembled the booklet. When class finally ended, she was the first one to burst out of her desk as she scoured over the classroom, trying to find her lost manuel.

"It's Lapis," Peridot saw the Klonoa cover in her eyes and immediately grabbed it, "The cat looks cute."

Peridot adjusted her glasses and smiled, "Th-thanks. Um, you read it during class?"

Lapis and Peridot walked out of the class and into the mass of middle schoolers flooding the halls, "I've listened to more than enough lectures about the pythagorean theorem than a person should. I just tuned her out and read your little booklet," she explained.

The two walked together not speaking as they made their way through the endless waves of people, "So lunch is next, and, would you like to, sit with me?"

Lapis nodded, "Sure. Besides I don't know where the cafeteria is," she followed Peridot after they waited for the halls to fizzle out. While she was led, she noticed that Peridot was even with her in height.

* * *

**Five Years Later**

* * *

Peridot woke up, already telling that it was late in the morning by how the sun's light was coming straight down. She pulled herself to the edge of her mattress, pushing her hair out of her eyes while she yawned. She pulled herself off the edge of her bed, balancing herself on one foot, feeling the strain in her right leg.

"C'mon. It's just a few steps," she groaned to herself, "You can make it." She looked across the room to the swivel chair in front of her tv. She attempted one step before losing her balance. She fell on the floor, breaking her fall by catching herself on her mattress.

Peridot moved her toes to check if anything was broken, feeling her leg to feel if anything hurt. She could still feel the metal rod in her leg, guiding her finger over the long scar. She looked to her right and sighed to herself. She reached for her prosthetic leg and pulled it to her right knee, pulling the leg of her shorts up. Briefly, she felt the tip of her knee feeling the end of her leg with her fingers. Peridot pushed those thoughts away as she attached the prosthetic to her knee, pulling the socket over the residual limb. Once she felt that it was safely attached, she pulled herself up, standing straight and balanced. She walked across the room, and planted herself in her chair. And because she intended to spend the rest of her day in that chair, she removed her prosthetic and moved it to the side of her chair. Peridot turned on one of her video game consoles with the intention of wasting the entire day on that game.

As the game booted up, she checked her phone and went to one of the dozens of social media apps her mother had downloaded for her, going to Lapis Lazuli's page. Nothing out of the ordinary, but she liked her posts regardless. Her game finally loaded and she queued up for quick matches against randoms.

A few hours later after dealing with a garbage team, she cursed at her tv before quitting out. Peridot sat back in her swivel chair as it spun. She stared at the ceiling watching her view of the ceiling shift as she pushed her chair to spin. Her phone reminded her that it existed by vibrating a message from her mum, though she ignored her message and started texting Lapis.

"Hey. Do you wanna come over tonight?" she clicked send and resumed staring into the ceiling listening to the ambience from her tv. The instant her phone blared its ringtone, she checked to see if Lapis messaged her back.

But immediately, her mood soured, "Not today, Peri. Too much studying."

She hunched herself over and looked at the ground, "Yeah. I figured not today either," she looked at her phone and looked at the message her mum sent her.

"Did you take your GED test today?" followed by a few emoticons that were meant to show signs of hope.

Peridot checked the time on her phone, "Oh. It's five thirty," she muttered realizing that she was four hours late to her test.


	2. Chapter 2

**Middle School - Eighth Grade ******

* * *

Lapis expected Peridot to lead her into the long line of middle schoolers to get some grub, but instead Peridot chose to sit down at a table in a corner of the cafeteria, isolated from other people. She got a few glances from other students and a few teachers aimed at her blew hair, but at this point, there wasn't any reason to care about what other people thought of what she looked like.

What she was concerned about was the growling in her stomach, and that Peridot wasn't going to be leaving from her chair anytime soon.

"Hey, aren't we going to get lunch?" she poked her guide.

Peridot reached into her backpack, pulling out a lunch box, "You want this? I don't eat a lot, but my parents always give me this huge lunch every day," she pushed the bag to Lapis.

Lapis stared down at the bag, hesitating to open the lunch, "Are you sure you don't want any food," she realized her words were falling on deaf ears, "You're playing video games during lunch?"

"YES! Because all the teachers get pissed when I play it during class, so this is the only time I can actually play games!" Peridot ranted while she mashed buttons to punctuate every word, "Sorry, I just hate getting judged for playing games. It's like everyone I know just decided videogames are for kids when you're in middle school!"

Lapis nodded her head while biting into the club sandwich she dug out of the lunch bag, "Holy crap this thing is filled with meat," she scooted over to watch what Peridot was playing, "So what are you playing?"

Peridot's face flushed, "Um, it's... Pokemon. You know what a Pokemon is, right?" Peridot asked, unsure if she knew what she was talking about.

"I know what Pokemon is, I," now it was Lapis' turn for her face to get flushed, "I, I watch the anime every now and then."

Peridot put her game down, looked at Lapis straight in the face, and met her eyes with her own, so she could give her own proper response, "PFFFFTTT! AHAHAHAHA! You still watch that crap!?"

A few other students looked over at them wondering what the hell was going on in the nerd corner of the cafeteria, "Oh shut up, Mrs. Gameboy!"

"Excuse me, Miss Lazuli! This here is a DS, not a gameboy! And a gameboy can't play Pokemon LeafGreen. You're thinking of the Gameboy Advance-

Lapis shoved the rest of her sandwich to shut her up, "I don't watch it all the time, it's just something that, you know, if it's on I'll watch it," Lapis explained, looking at the screen of Peridot's game, "Is that Pikachu?"

Peridot swallowed her sandwich and glared at her new friend, "No. That is not a Pikachu this is a, you're messing with me aren't you?!"

Lapis laughed at Peridot's face, "Yes I know that's not a Pikachu," Lapis looked at the game screen again, "But for real, what is that?"

Peridot adjusted her glasses and looked back at her game, "It's a Sandslash. I never used him before but I thought of having him on my team as a challenge, so I... caught him and," she stopped to look at Lapis staring at her game, "I'm using him."

Lapis nodded, "So what is the point of this game?"

"You watch the anime right? So you know how Ash is trying to get all of the gym badges?" she waited for Lapis' nod to continue, "Well I got all of the badges so I'm going after the Elite Four."

"What about that tournament that Ash keeps losing?"

Peridot shook her head, "That's only in the anime. But right now I'm going through Victory Road but I didn't have enough Max Repels so I had to-

Lapis nodded while eating the rest of Peridot's lunch, vaguely listening to what Peridot was talking about and watching the game.

"Oh crap lunch is almost over," Peridot remarked as she turned off the system, "Um, do you have any classes with me?"

Lapis looked at her schedule and handed it to Peridot, "Do I?

Peridot scanned over the schedule, "We have, our last two class together! Awesome!" she handed the schedule back to Lapis, "See you later!" and before Lapis could get another word in, the shorter blonde had ran off to her next class.

Lapis shrugged her shoulders and walked out of the cafeteria to her next class. She wish the weather was cold enough for her to wear a jacket so she could cover up her blue hair. As much as she loved having her hair colored, she hated the attention she got from every school she went to, "It's fucking blue hair, you fucks."

"Watch your language!" reprimanded a monitor.

* * *

**College - Freshman Year Second Semester**

* * *

The air was hot and humid, the nylon-polyester sticking to her body, and the sounds of splashing water filled the facility. Lapis stood in a line of women, waiting for their turn to climb a three-meter diving board.

"Excellent form, Clarise! Anna make sure you don't bend your knees or hips! Lapis show me how you do a reverse dive straight!" Lapis nodded to her instructor. She climbed the ladder onto the springboard, and walked towards the edge. Lapis bounced on the edge leaped into the air off the board. While all of the girls watched in a brief few seconds of wonderment, for Lapis time was slowed down to adjust her legs so they wouldn't bend. Her entire body turned until her head faced the water where she came plummeting down into the pool. She dived into the water gracefully, letting herself reach the bottom of the pool. She felt the submerged concrete before realizing she still required to breath air. She pushed with her legs to the surface and swam to the pool ladder, climbing out of the water.

"Excellent work, Lapis. And that girls is how you pull off a reverse dive straight," ever since Lapis had joined the Swim Team, Coach Pearl would always sing her praise, almost bragging about her abilities, "That about wraps it up for practice, so gather up everyone. Be here by 7:00 in the morning for the swim meet. Now what's the thing I always say the day before every meet?"

The girls could repeat her favorite phrase verbatim, "Nobody who ever gave their best ever regretted it," Lapis answered with her team.

"Excellent! I'll see you all tomorrow," and with that, their team was dismissed. And while the rest of the girls made a beeline to the shows, Pearl stopped Lapis before she could join her team, "So Lapis. Any luck getting her to come?"

Lapis shrugged, "I don't know. It's a hassle to get her out of her room," she gave her coach a wily smile, "But I have a secret weapon, coach."

"A secret weapon, huh?" Pearl laughed with her student, "As long as it gets her to show up. See you tomorrow, Lazuli!" she waved goodbye as she walked into her office.

Lapis thought of her "secret weapon" still not sure if it would work. She still thought about Peridot while she grabbed a towel on her way to her locker. As she dried her hair out with her towel she wondered if Peridot had texted her at all during practice. When she opened her locker and looked at her phone and saw the six text messages she got over the last two hours.

"Holy shit my team fucking sucks. We finally got a healer. Fuck she's useless. I rage quitted and I'm playing Animal Crossing now. Nevermind, Resetti got pissed at me and I threw the game across the room and then I crawled across the floor to get it back. Anyways let me know when you're done with practice," Lapis read her girlfriend's texts out loud while she changed into more casual clothes.

Peridot was a hard person to motivate, Lapis realized while bringing up the camera app on her phone, but she wasn't very hard to persuade.

A quick picture of herself with her wet hair pushed back, with the text, "Hey do you wanna hang?" was likely more than enough to get Peridot in the right mood.

Not even a full minute later as she started her car up, she got a response from Peridot. Lapis didn't need to read it; she knew Peri was always up to hangout.


	3. Chapter 3

**College Freshman Year Second Semester**

* * *

"Let me tell you! You are nothing but a clod! And I'm blocking you, asshole! You want to get protected! Stop fucking complaining when you run out and get shot down, you clod!" Peridot swore into her microphone, screaming at her fellow player that told her off for failing to protect them.

Lapis Lazuli was only outside Peridot's house and she could distinctly and very clearly hear her girlfriend swearing at her game. She looked at some of the neighbors stared awkwardly at Peridot's house before brushing them off and walking into her home away from home. At the moment, no one was home besides her girlfriend, leaving the house quiet. If she wasn't hearing Peridot swearing at her television, it would seem like she was wandering in an unattended home.

Lapis walked to a fridge and pulled two sodas out of a box. She walked through Peridot's empty house to the only sign of life.

"Hey," Lapis knocked on the door.

She heard scrambling on the side of the door, "Sorry! I'm on one leg right now!" she replied.

Lapis listened to her attach her leg, patiently waiting for her girlfriend to come to the door.

Peridot opened the door for Lapis, instantly looking up at the swimmer, "Sorry. Come in, my room is finally clean for once. Heh heh.," Peridot awkwardly laughed.

The most distinct difference between Peridot and Lapis was the near foot between them. Back in middle school, the two of them were the same height, but during and after high school Lapis got a massive growth spurt that put her at five foot ten, while Peridot stayed at five feet.

Lapis sat in the swivel chair at the foot of the tv, inviting her girlfriend to join her, "You want to tell me about your day?" she followed her request with a wink.

Peridot blushed while she joined Lapis in the chair, sitting over the edge of the chair. If there was one upside to Peridot's small size, it made it easier for Lapis to hold her anywhere. Even there, Lapis held her girlfriend close to her chest, so she could feel her heartbeat reverberate through her body. And more importantly her chest on Peridot's back.

Peridot didn't breath, her face was turning several shades redder than it ever did before. Even if she could get a word through her mouth, she didn't dare want to end this moment. She wished it could last forever.

Lapis Lazuli lived to make sure that it wouldn't when right in Peridot's ear, she blew out a raspberry that to most people would've been a quiet but nonetheless intrusive raspberry, but right in someone's ear, specifically the ear of a woman who was very easy to fluster, especially when she wasn't expecting it, well, the next series of shouting let the world knew that Peridot did not find it pleasant to have a raspberry blown in her ear.

"SCREW YOU, LAZULI!" she shouted while on the floor, pointing to a laughing Lapis.

When she was done laughing at her, she offered her hand to Peridot, "Sorry, you knew I couldn't resist," she joked to her while Peridot sat in her lap again.

"You and your fart jokes,"

Lapis hugged Peridot from behind while she watched Peridot play a game, "I love them almost as much as I love you."

"Could you stop being gay and get on the point?!" a disgruntled player complained.

"Sorry!" she muttered into her mic before silencing herself, "So, how was your day?"

Lapis watched Peridot's character, a hulking man in armor shouting with a German accent with a blue shield, "It was a day. Studying for finals, swim practice after studying, and then I came here. It's the same as every other day besides, you know, coming here. That's usually a once or twice a week sort of thing."

Peridot nodded while she listened to her, "How's swimming?" she asked, focusing on her game using the character's hammer to hit other characters.

"I actually wanted to ask you about that," she started her ploy, "So, I have something I want to give you."

"Ooh. A present? For me? What did you get me, Lapis?" Peridot asked excitedly, reminiscent of a puppy presented with a new chew toy.

Lapis was able to move herself from behind Peridot and out of the chair to her bag, "Firstly, I just wanna say you need to get a couch in this room, because holy crap that chair was not made for two people at once," she popped her back while walking to her bag, "Anyway, close your eyes. And no peaking!"

"What if you're topless while you're holding my gift?" Peridot asked, with a smirk on her face.

"Why would I take off my shirt to walk the short distance to give you your gift, and then putting the shirt back on?" Lapis asked, her tone of voice remaining the same and her face completely deadpan.

Peridot could only respond with a, "I, don't know?" raising her arms in confusion.

"You perv, you just want to look at my chest," though she was deadpan, she winked at her girlfriend before turning away to grab Peridot's gift in her bag. Peridot was facing away from Lapis, her eyes closed shut.

"Now no peeking," Lapis guided Peridot's arms to hold onto the wrapped present, "Now open your eyes."

The blonde opened her eyes and looked at the newspaper wrapping, "Wrapping paper! It's what I always wanted!" her sarcasm was on point, "But before I open this, why did you get me this? It's Spring. My birthday isn't until September and Christmas is like, you know. The end of the year."

Lapis came around in front of Peridot and kneeled down to make eye contact, "Well, you see-

"You want something from me,"

There was a short pause, only the game's audio breaking the silence, "Was it that obvious?"

"Ok, what do you want?" Peridot asked while she examined her gift.

Lapis prayed that her plan would work, "So, tomorrow is my swim meet. It's not really anything special, it's just a swim meet, my team is going up at eleven, and," Lapis looked Peridot straight in her eyes, reaching for one of her hands, "I want you to come and watch me swim."

It wasn't the best response Lapis was hoping for, but it definitely wasn't the worst, as a deep sigh doesn't always spell trouble, "I, well. I don't know. I'm still not ready for people to see me with this," Peridot nudged her prosthetic, tapping the plastic casing a few times.

Those weren't the words Lapis wanted to hear, but she did her best to hide her disappointment, "I-it's fine. I know this is still a problem for you and-

"No, I can do it," Peridot interrupted her, "I can wear jeans and cover this up, and," she paused to adjust her glasses, "I've wanted to watch you swim for awhile, I just, I don't know-

"Oh thank you, thank you!" Lapis hugged Peridot and kissed her on the cheek, "Now, open your gift!"

Peridot felt her cheek, getting just as red as Lapis' hair was blue, "I don't know, I think that was a pretty good gift."

"Oh you'll like this, trust me,"

Peridot looked at the wrapped, box-shaped gift and started tearing apart the wrapping paper, getting more and more excited as less of the newspaper held onto the box.

"No way! Where did you find this?! I've been looking for this for over two years!" Peridot looked over her new game that unfortunately its name is copyright protected, "Where'd you find it?"

Lapis rubbed the back of her head, smiling to herself, "I know some people and I pulled some favors. This girl in my physics class works at a Gamestop and she told me they had a copy and she would hold it for me."

"Nice! Now this is why I keep you around!" Peridot got out of her chair, nearly falling over, but not stopping her from hugging Lapis' waist.

"Really? It's not the blue hair, my sense of humor, or that I'm a swimmer with a decently sized chest?" she helped Peridot up to her feet, "I'm glad you like it."

The two held to each other close, both loving and every moment they had together, "You know I'm kinda burnt out on this game, do you wanna watch Camp Pining Hearts?" Peridot asked, looking up at Lapis.

The blue-haired swimmer gripped her heart, "Oh, Peridot! You know just the words to make a girl happy!" she giggled, "You set it up, I'm gonna grab those bean bags you have."

"How long do you wanna watch?

"Uh? Just until midnight. Remember I have to be there at seven!"

"Seven? You poor soul," Peridot remarked while she started playing Season Three of Camp Pining Hearts, the show's familiar jingle resonating with her, causing her to hum along to it as she sat down in her bean bag.

"Hey, you have to be up by then too," Lapis reminded her, joining her girlfriend to sit in the beanbags to enjoy Camp Pining Hearts.

"Then let me get comfortable," just as the episode was about to begin, Peridot pulled the leg of her shorts up to remove her prosthetic, putting it to the side.

* * *

A few hours later, Peridot and Lapis ended their binge and clocked out for the night. Underneath the covers, Lapis held her shorter girlfriend close to her, kissing her on the neck before letting sleep overcome her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you are wondering. The game Lapis gave her was Omega Quintet. All writers are advised to write what they know. So I did. I'm still looking for that effing game. And Peridot was playing Overwatch. Because obvious choice is obvious.
> 
> I appreciate that you guys waited for this patiently. Thank you. Chimu-ke is a wonderful artist who drew the art for what i used as a thumbnail. Pls follow so she can draw more.
> 
> Peridot is a Reinhardt main, btw. Also fun fact, the rock is actually supposed to be pronounced "Pear-rih-doh." Rebecca Sugar has ruined the pronunciation of a rock for a generation.


	4. Chapter 4

**Middle School**

* * *

For Lapis, the school she was currently attending was most likely the most basic one she had ever gone to. Of the four teachers she passed on her way to class, two were excessively cheery though especially condescending of her hair color. Another teacher that looked like he was in his seventies glared at her, but then again his eyes had sunk deep into his sockets so maybe that was the only way he could look at people. Then there was her teacher who looked like she had given up on any ambition in life.

Lapis liked her.

Though she tolerated Peridot and thought she was ok, she wished that she was in her class so she had someone to pass the time with. Everyone else in the class looked like the most boring and lifeless people she would ever see. Then again she was just as lifeless looking as the rest of them. None of them batted an eye besides the few that noticed her blue hair. Having anything to pass the time would have been better than waiting for the teacher to lecture about crap none of them cared about.

It was then when Lapis realized she may have been a nihilist. Then again, when faced with middle school classes that were exceedingly easy for anyone that had common sense and test-taking skills, there's very little choice in becoming a nihilist. Was every middle schooler a nihilst? Was everyone who went to school a nihilist. Did Lapis know the meaning of nihilism? Not really. She knew it had something to do with either hating everything or not believing in anything. Either way, she fit those two bills.

The thoughts one has in a class you could give less than shits about were more interesting than whatever the teacher was mumbling on about, or any of the classmates who were whispering about some girls getting pregnant. Lapis remained silent and uncaring, and if it weren't for Peridot, the only things she would have muttered were her own name when the teacher called on her to make sure she belonged in the class. Truthfully, she didn't feel like she belonged in any class, but she replied yes anyway. Lapis believed that an answer that lead to the least amount of human interaction was her way to live.

And these half-baked philosophical discussions with herself were enough to get her through the next two classes until she saw Peridot walking from the other side of the hallway. She saw Peridot because she saw the blonde waving her hand above the mass of people.

"Hey! Where I sit there's been an empty spot for ages! You should sit there!" Lapis couldn't get a word in before she was sitting at a table with Peridot, "We don't need to worry about this class, the teacher barely does anything so we can just hang out and chill!"

"And by hangin' out, you mean play that Pokemon game?" Lapis quipped.

"Exactly! Man you're getting the hang of this really fast!" Peridot laughed, pulling out the DS in her pocket, but putting it back in, "But I do wanna talk to you."

Lapis raised an eyebrow, "Really? You wanna talk to me? I can't guarantee I'll have very interesting things to say."

"Well, let's start with, wait there's the teacher," Peridot briefly paused before returning to their conversation, "Where did you move from?"

The blue-haired girl took a deep sigh, "We're starting with that huh?" she stared forward, as if reading off a script, "I lived in a little town in Delaware called Beach City until I was six. My parents divorced and my mom took off for the west with me. We lived in Nashville for six months. Couldn't stand the country music. Lived in Kansas City for two years, then Wichita for a whole year. Then we moved to this town called Fremont but my mom worked in San Jose and I went to school there for five years. And now I'm in San Antonio."

"Whoa! You've been all across America! That's so cool" Peridot exclaimed, her eyes filled with admiration.

Lapis only shrugged, "I guess. I don't think about it that much."

Peridot nodded, unsure what to ask next, deciding to just wing it, "Did you leave any friends behind when you moved?"

Lapis looked away from Peridot, "Every time."

Though they were in a class filled with boisterous classmates, to them it was completely silent, "I don't know what it's like to move away from friends," for the first time, Lapis heard Peridot speak completely deadpan, any humor from her voice gone, "I've never even had friends."

She felt a slender arm wrap around back, pulling her close to the blue-haired girl, "I know what that's like. Feeling alone. It sucks," she looked at the blonde in the eye, for once smiling, "Doesn't have to suck as hard with someone else."

* * *

**College Freshman Year Second Semester**

* * *

Peridot woke up, earlier than she ever would on her own when she heard the shower across the hall turned on.

Peridot didn't always live in the room she was in. When she had her accident years ago, her parents moved her room and everything in it to the guest room across the hall from the bathroom, reasoning it would be a shorter walk than where her original room. Tragically, this meant that whenever guests were over, Peridot heard everything. Everything

And at five in the morning she heard Lapis showering across the hall. What Peridot wanted to do was turn her body over and go back to bed, as did most sane people at that hour. And briefly, Peridot considered this, before realizing that there was a smoking hot girl literally across the hall.

This alone was enough to wake her up and get her prosthetic attached. She pushed the door to her room open and knocked on the bathroom door, accidentally pushing it open.

"Who's there?"

Peridot couldn't find her voice to answer back when she heard the echoing off the shower walls, resulting in a raspy whisper, "It's me."

Lapis stopped in the middle of scrubbing her hair to turn towards the bathroom door. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "You can come in if you want to."

Peridot walked through the door, stopping in the center of the bathroom, unsure what to do or say next, "Hey, uh. You're up early," Peridot muttered.

"The meet starts up at seven. My coach wants us there an hour before it starts. I was gonna ask when you woke up, are you gonna come with me or are you gonna go there by yourself?" Lapis asked as she washed her hair out.

"My license expired a few days ago, so I'll take a ride with you," Peridot proposed, "So once you're done um, I'll... take a quick shower."

The short blonde nearly fainted when Lapis pulled back the shower curtains and smiled. "Care to join?"

Peridot stood frozen in place before regaining what little composure she had, "Um, could you, turn around, I need a moment?"

Lapis nodded and turned around, smiling over how cute she looked, "Let me know when you're ready."

She waited patiently under the stream of warm water for Peridot to get ready, smiling more when she heard her quietly mutter, "I'm ready."

Lapis was able to turn around to see Peridot taking off her glasses, and she took in the whole view. Peridot was much shorter than her, especially after Lapis' growth spurt that dwarfed her. Peridot didn't go outside very often since losing her leg, plus with being Irish, her skin was as white as milk. She tried desperately not to gush over them, but she loved Peridot's freckles that covered her chest, shoulders, and her face.

And while Lapis would never claim or take pride in being a perv, she would never gloss over Peridot's chest. If she was envious of Peridot about anything, it was how much bigger she was than Lapis. After middle school, while Lapis stayed the same size, Peridot blossomed into a woman. A tiny, angry woman. They weren't too large, but they were just perky enough, perfect for Lapis.

She briefly gazed at her legs: one leg was thin and pale with a long scar going from below the knee to above the ankle, and the other leg stopped at her knee, where the prosthetic was attached.

"You're.. You're staring," Peridot finally broke the silence, covering herself with her arms.

Lapis slipped out of her trance, "Oh, sorry. I guess, come in," Lapis invited her, watching Peridot walk towards the shower, stopping to sit on the bathtub walls to remove her prosthetic leg.

"Can you move the chair over here?" Peridot asked, pointing to the shower chair behind Lapis.

Lapis moved the chair next to her, "Need help getting on?"

Peridot shook her head, "Nah. I think if you touch me I might faint," she explained as she pulled herself onto the chair.

"Ouch. Didn't know you could be that savage, Peri,"

"WHAT?! I meant-

"I know what you meant," Lapis laughed to herself while picking up a bottle of shampoo, "You mind if I wash your hair?"

Peridot groaned, "Just 'cause I don't have a leg doesn't mean I-

"I know, i know. I wasn't pitying you, I just wanted to wash your hair," she irritably explained, "Sorry I keep cutting you off."

Peridot looked down at the soaked floor, "It's ok. Still tired," she answered, "You can... Wash my hair," she muttered.

Lapis grinned, squeezing the concoction in her palm, "Gladly," she rubbed the shampoo between her hands and started rubbing it over Peridot's head.

At first it was all kinds of discomfort for Peridot, until it subsided to slight agitation, and finally to a wonderful bliss. Lapis' hands were like magic, weaving their way through Peridot's thick hair and thoroughly cleaning it. By the end of their shower, Lapis had turned her hair from dirty blonde to light blonde.

"Hey Lapis," Peridot turned around to look up at Lapis

"Yeah?"

"I love you,"

Lapis smiled as she rinsed Peridot's hair out, "I love you too."


	5. Chapter 5

Peridot looked at herself in the mirror, fiddling with her shaggy hair to get it into a topknot, "Man, Lapis! Your fingers did magic to my hair!" she gleed over how soft and clean her hair felt.

"The wonders of actually using shampoo and conditioner," Lapis snarked at her girlfriend, "And if you think my fingers were magic then, well just wait-

"Up, bup, bup! Enough with that, you perv!" Peridot exclaimed, then going back to getting ready for the meet, "So how long is this swim meet going to last? Three hours, ten hours?"

"Just four hours, so you won't be there all day. Meet starts at 8, so you'll have to watch the other age groups," Lapis explained.

"Well in that case," Peridot excused herself from the bathroom, walking to her bedroom, and coming out stuffing her Vita into a handbag over her shoulder, "I've been wanting to grind in this game for a while so this will be the perfect opportunity!"

Lapis realized that after dating this nerd for three years, she really shouldn't be surprised anymore, but Peridot 'kept one upping herself every time. It's why she loved her.

"So are you ready to go?" Lapis asked as she pulled her duffel bag over her shoulder.

The blonde felt her left leg, making sure it was properly attached, "Yeah I'm ready."

* * *

It had been years, literal years since Peridot saw what a morning looked like. Rarely she ever got up earlier than nine and when she did, she still buried her head in pillows for two hours. And for the first time in a long time, Peridot saw what the morning sun look like, and even better, the sky was in a condition where anyone could comfortably look at the sun.

"Man, it's like, a giant egg yolk in the sky," Peridot thought out loud, gawking at the star like a child in an aquarium.

"A giant egg yolk," Lapis repeated, laughing out loud by the end, "Never was an egg fan myself."

"You will give me an egg," Peridot muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing. You know I wouldn't mind stopping for some breakfast," Peridot suggested, looking hopefully at her girlfriend.

"Don't get your hopes up, Peri. Besides there'll be plenty of tacos there. If you want I can get you some," Lapis offered as she got off a freeway.

"Hell yeah! Sounds awesome!" Peridot exclaimed.

For the rest of their drive to Lapis' school they small-talked about the random fandoms they indulged in, along with the Camp Pining Hearts discussion which ended in a light-hearted argument over their OTPs.

"Look Lapis. Objectively, Pierrcy is the best ship and makes the most logical sense. You just gotta face facts," Peridot declared as she shot out of Lapis' car.

Lapis cut the ignition to her car, laughing at Peridot's statement while she got out, "Oh please Paulcy is so obviously better in every way. Besides you saw that episode. It was canon."

"SHE WAS MANIPULATING THAT POOR SOUL!" Peridot practically screamed in the parking lot, regaining her composure when she noticed people were staring, "So this is your school, huh?"

"Yep. First time on campus," Lapis reached for Peridot's hand, cupping it in her own, "C'mon. I'll lead you to the pool."

Peridot followed Lapis across the parking lot, never letting go of her as she tried to keep up, "Hold up. Still on one leg, remember?"

Lapis slowed down, letting Peridot catch up with her, "Sorry. Got so excited I forgot you only had one," she admitted.

"Only one leg and a huge metal rod in the other," she added.

"Hey if you'd like, I can put a huge rod in you," Lapis winked at her.

"Gross. Just no. Can't believe you're into that,"

Lapis gripped her chest in an over-the-top manner, "Oh, Peridot! Your kink-shaming! It breaks my heart!"

Peridot rolled her eyes, "Even though you're the one who dragged me out of the closet, I'm still gayer than you."

"PFFT! You think that just because you're not into pegging or lady dicks, it makes you the gayer one?"

"Um, yes. Yes I do,"

"You know, I am not going to have this argument right now,"

"That's one way of admitting defeat to the truly gay one in this relationship," Peridot arrogantly declared here victory.

Lapis only shook her head while they walked to the gym. Already, several schools from across the country were gathering at the college to compete. Lapis wasn't worried about the other competitors, believing that as long as you were calm and collected, you would always do your best. And since she was in the top five on her team, it's safe to say that it worked out great for her.

"So where do I go? And where can I get those tacos?" Peridot broke the silence.

"I'll grab a couple from the locker room. But before I do I want you to meet my coach," Lapis answered.

"Your coach? Why?" Peridot asked, suddenly pulling her hood over her head.

"You know. Me and my coach have a friendly relationship and she's always asking about you, so I thought this meet would be a good time to, you know. Meet her,"

The shorter blonde only shrugged. Not the best reaction but not the worst reaction she could have gotten from her, "The way you're describing her, it sounds like she's your mom."

"Ehhh, more like a student and a teacher friendship sort of thing. Not anything like that anime I showed you," Lapis explained.

But before long, Lapis and Peridot made it to the gym where dozens of men and women were standing around waiting to get into the gym's locker rooms and then to get into the pool. When they walked into the pool room, Peridot instantly regretted wearing a jacket. The tall room with the expansive amount of water filled the air with hot humidity.

At a desk between a mound of papers and timers and a mountain of boxes filled with tinfoil-wrapped tacos was a woman with hair so blonde it looked white. She was so busy that she she didn't look up when the duo approached her.

"Busy at the moment. Sign in's are in the locker room and the tacos are on the other side of the pool," she pointed to another table at the other end of the gym.

"Is that really something you should be saying to your star swimmer?" Lapis playfully asked.

The woman looked up at the blue-haired girl with a faux-condescending look, "And are you just here so you can get tacos before the rest of your team?"

"No. Well, yes in a way. See, I know you keep asking about my girlfriend-

"Who is Peridot Olivine?"

Lapis briefly nodded her head to let out a small sigh, basically saying, "You have brought up the running joke between us once again and I am pausing to stop myself from laughing. This was very much a haha funny moment, Coach," before looking back up to continue, "Yeah. So I brought the woman herself," Lapis presented Peridot

Peridot assessed the woman in front of her before offering her hand, "Um. Hi. It's, nice... to meet you," she stammered.

Pearl took her hand and shook it, the smile never leaving from her face, "It's lovely to meet you at last. I'm Pearl Aragonite, coach of the swim team. Lapis has told me a lot about you."

"Oh, she has?" Peridot looked at Lapis for clues as to what she should respond to her with.

"I wish we had a better opportunity as I'm," Pearl looked at the mass amount of papers she was still working on, "Quite busy. But it was lovely to meet you at last," Pearl finally noticed that Peridot was staring at the box of tacos, "And please. Help yourself to-

Before she could finish, Peridot already grabbed three of them, and if Lapis hadn't nudged her, she wouldn't have said this to Pearl, "Thank you for breakfast, and it was great to meet you too," Peridot briefly nodded before turning to her girlfriend and muttering, "I'm gonna find a place to sit."

The two women watched her leave to sit at the top of the stands, "Well. I can see why you love her."

"She's really shy. You're probably the first, newest person she's talked to in years," Lapis explained.

"Hey don't worry about it. You brought her here so she can watch you swim, not so she can meet me," Pearl briefly looked to the young woman chomping on the folded tortilla while she was busy with a game, "But I won't deny it was a treat to meet her at long last."

Lapis pressed her hands together in a bowing sort of fashion, "Thank you. This is why we're friends."

"And I'm also your coach," Pearl reminded her, "Go get changed, meet up with your team, and get ready."

Before Lapis left she attempted to grab one of the tacos, but Pearl closed the box with its cover, slyly shaking her head, "Get moving, Lazuli."

* * *

Through some blessing from a god she didn't believe in, Peridot was not only able to connect to the school wifi, but she was able to get a match running in one of her fighting games, actually finding people on the Vita. To the three people who own a Vita who are reading this, you understand.

Peridot hadn't mentioned it to Lapis but she had not eaten anything yesterday and had skipped dinner the day before. Maybe she should have mentioned that when they drove past the donut shop, because Peridot was insatiably hungry, and three tacos only slightly subsidized the hunger.

After eating the last taco she had taken, she took a small break from her games and started watching the swimming competition.

"Why exactly did we wake up so early?!" a high-pitched, whiny voice complained.

Peridot turned her head and saw a tall, lanky man with poofy, red hair and a pair of gauges in his ears sitting next to a much, much shorter woman with bright, blonde hair, "We needed to be here anyway because YOU need to study for next Thursday's quiz."

"I got that part. I'm wondering why we're HERE specifically," he emphasized.

"Well, Lapis is swimming in an hour and we keep meaning to watch her swim," she explained.

The man's next words became a bit lewder, "Do you think there'll be any bikinis here?"

The girl punched him in the shoulder, "It's actual swimming, Lars. They'll be wearing one pieces."

Peridot scooted closer to the couple, leaving some distance between them, "Excuse me," she stopped when two pairs of eyes focused on her, "Um. You guys know Lapis?"

The man who Peridot assumed was called Lars looked back to the swimming competition, "Yeah, she's a friend of Sadie's."

Sadie leaned forward to look at Peridot, "He's her friend through me by proxy. How do you know her?"

"I'm her... girlfriend," she answered.

Lars and Sadie focused their attention on her again, "Wait. You're Peridot right?" Sadie asked.

She nodded.

"Man we were starting to wonder if Lapis had made you up!" Lars laughed in his seat.

Sadie moved over between Lars and Peridot, "Ignore him, he can be a real asshole sometimes," she offered her hand to her, "My names Sadie, it's good to meet you."

Peridot awkwardly gripped the shorter woman's hand and shook it, "Uh same here."

"Hey, isn't that Lapis down there?" Lars pointed down to a group of women standing in a line.

Peridot focused on her blue-haired girlfriend, silently wishing her luck in her competition. She occasionally shifted focus to the splashes the other competitors made.

Finally, Lapis' name was called up by the drab announcer's voice. Lapis climbed to the second diving above the water, and as the announcer read out the dive she was attempting, she found Peridot in the crowd and gave her a small wink. In return, Peridot raised her thumb just as she was about to start her 'straight inward dive.'

Lapis walked to the edge of the diving board, and turned her back to the pool. She bounced on the board a few times to get her bearings before she jumped. As she was in the air, she turned her body headfirst so that she faced the water, trying desperately to not bend any of her limbs until she hit the water.

She didn't hear any applause. They were all masked by the depths of the pool. She touched the concrete and jettisoned herself to the surface where she heard a familiar voice go, "WOOOOOOH! GO LAPIS!"

As Lapis was climbing out of the water, she watched Peridot awkwardly sit back down with a few spectators awkwardly staring at her.

* * *

An hour later after the swim competition adjourned and Lapis got out of her swimsuit and into her normal clothes, she thought she was going to enjoy eating somewhere for lunch with Peridot, and possibly have Sadie and Lars join them so she can finally socialize.

But Murphy's Law dictates that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. And as Peridot walked down the bleachers, Murphy's Law began to take place. Somehow she slipped on the bleacher and lost her balance, but she didn't fall on her face, for once landing on her feet.

It seemed like all was well until she slipped on another puddle and fell into the pool. Luckily, Murphy's Law was not a heartless monster, as her Vita was still on the bleachers. Not so lucky, was Peridot was in the water thrashing about.

Lapis who observed the whole altercation completely deadpan, sighed deeply before she walked to her girlfriend and offered her hand, "C'mon, you klutz."

Peridot took her hand, bearing a face of shame, but also smiling a bit from how crazy what just happened. She helped Peridot get onto the edge and pulled her out of the water, "Jeez, I am freaking wet."

"OH MY GOD! SHE LOST HER LEG!" Lapis and Peridot jumped a bit from Lars' screaming. They finally noticed that Peridot indeed lost a leg from half of her pants not forming around a leg shape. They looked over the edge and saw the prosthetic and her shoe standing straight up, at the bottom of the pool.

After someone fished the leg out of the pool and Peridot was given a towel to dry off in, she looked to her blue haired girlfriend, "So uh. What do you wanna do now?" Peridot asked.

They exchanged glances for a few seconds and got to work putting everything in Lapis' duffel bag, "I can't believe I'm gonna bridal carry you all the way to my car," she said while she put the duffel bag over her shoulder and lifted Peridot in her arms.

In return, Peridot gave her a small kiss on the cheek, "My hero."

"Alright. You made this worth it,"

"Now let's get lunch, I'm pretty starved,"

"You know, most people would prioritize their limbs over lunch, but you just flow against the river,"

"And that's why you love me,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twas fun to write this gay chapter. Love writing banter between characters.  
> So this is all i have written for this story. Will update in the future both for the Pit and for A03  
> let me know what you guys think


	6. Chapter 6

**Middle School - Eighth Grade**

* * *

It was the end of her first week in Texas. Compared to the last few times she moved, it wasn't that bad. There were a few decent people and the teachers weren't enforcers for school conduct. She was glad at least she had one friend to talk to.

Or really a friend to listen to.

She was amazed that Peridot wasn't getting tired of her, and even though she regretted saying this inside her head, she was impressed that she wasn't annoyed with her. To some degree, she liked having her around. Even though she talked Lapis' ear off, whenever she started talking, Peridot would stay completely silent and listen to every word. It was kind of cute.

They were in their last period for the day, and tensions were high for that droning bell to go off. Their teacher was actually focused on making them learn some useless bullcrap, but even he was starting to sweat for the bell to ring.

While Lapis was focused on the clock, she was half-paying attention to Peridot's quiet ramblings, "So I know this is sorta springing this on you but would you want to have a sleepover at my place?"

"Yeah, sure," Lapis answered without listening to the question Peridot asked. After after a few moments did she finally realize what she said, "Wait, what?"

But Peridot's excitement had kicked into high gear, "Awesome, I have a bunch of games that I want to show you and we can have a pizza party!" she whispered excitedly while the teacher glared in their direction.

Lapis was, in a way, kind of excited to hang out with her new friend, but she was concerned if her mother would say yes. But then again, she never had been invited to a sleepover, so maybe she would be able to agree.

When the bell finally rang, Lapis could barely grab onto her bookbag before Peridot dragged her by her arm out of the school. For once she was the first one out of class and for a brief moment they were the only ones in the hallway before the maelstrom of students flooded the halls and into the light of the world.

* * *

**College - Freshman Year Second Semester**

* * *

The cashier at the local Wendy's thought he had seen it all, but when a soaken, legless girl came into his store, he had to do a double take before asking, "What'll you have?"

Lapis put the wet girl down next to the counter to balance on, "Wanna split a No. 4?"

Peridot adjusted herself and pushed her glasses, "Nah, a spicy asiago."

"Want your own or do you wanna split a drink?"

"Ew, no splitting. Separate. Do you wanna to pay half of it?" she pulled out a rather damp, clump of four dollar bills

"Sharing is caring," Lapis grabbed the bills and pulled out a few dollars of her own with some change, "Spicy asiago with two drinks and fries."

The two girls, after Peridot hopped over to a soda machine where she created an ungodly lime-flavored cola drink and sat by a window, with a family across from her. The kids gawked at the legless, pants sleeve until their dad snapped his fingers to not stare.

"So is that leg of yours totaled or something?" Lapis asked

"No, it's just that when it gets wet like that, it takes a while for it dry off so that it's safe for me to put on and that could take hours," Peridot explained, "The joys of being an amputee," she muttered before sipping her concoction.

Lapis laughed, "Hey, I'm willing to bridal carry across this whole town."

"And I'll carry a sign that says, had to sell my leg to get her a ring!" Peridot giggled.

"Ooh! Peridot are you already proposing?" Lapis melodramatically raised her arms to her head to feign shock, "Oh look, some friends followed us here."

Peridot turned to see Lars and Sadie walking through the window. She awkwardly raised her arm slightly above the table to wave while Lapis raised her arm high to get their attention and waved it, "Yo! Over here!"

Lars stayed over by the counter to order food while Sadie sat across from Peridot, "So you guys left before they could announce the scores to your swim meet."

Lapis let out a small laugh, "Sorry, we had to take care of this first," she explained while Peridot lifted the limp leg of her pants."

"Between us, it was funny as hell when Lars screamed like a girl when you lost your leg in the water," Sadie whispered to the couple from across the table.

Peridot giggled a bit, "Yeah, it's pretty good for freaking people out," she mumbled, "So how did Lapis do?"

Lars approached the table with two full drinks, "Her team made second place and she was third in her age group," he explained.

The blue-haired girl raised her hands with v-signs, "Woot."

"Pfft, not the most enthusiastic response in the world," Sadie noted.

"Naah, it's like a competition where if you do good or do bad, it really doesn't matter. Next swim meet is when we gotta get our shit together," Lapis explained.

Lars sipped his soda and slyly asked, "And how well put together is shit?"

Lapis looked Lars dead in the eye and said, "Very, well put together."

"Please, not before we're going to eat," Peridot begged.

"Agreed," Sadie seconded, "Hey, Lars can you grab our food?"

"FIIIIINE!" he groaned before getting up again.

Peridot's eyes followed the man to the counter, "He sure is a-

"Piece of work?" Sadie interjected.

"Yeah,"

Sadie looked back to Lars struggling to balance the two platters, "He's abrasive but he grows on you," she spoke quietly.

"Weren't you guys going to study after the swim meet?" Peridot asked.

"You assume we came to the meet first?" Lars answered her question with a question while he set down their food, "We've been here for... hours. It's felt like... years. Endless years of suffering," he bemoaned.

"Eat your food," Sadie elbowed him in the shoulder as the rest of the table unwrapped their meals.

"So, Lars. How's your culinary degree going?" Lapis tried starting a conversation.

"Eh? Fine, I guess?" he muttered while he munched on his sandwich.

The shorter blonde rolled her eyes, "What he means to say is that all of his food-related courses are fine, it's just his other courses are sorta," it was clear she was finding the word that wouldn't poke a sleeping bear, "Less than impressive."

"Algebra is literally the worst thing to have ever been invented by man! And why do I need it?!" he complained.

"Look, I told you, you should have gotten that credit while you were in highschool, but no! You were like, 'I'll get it done later,' and you played your stupid games!" she rebutted.

"Are you still on that? It's been two years!"

"Yeah! And now you're paying the price for it! And furthermore,"

Peridot sat in awkward silence as she ate her half of the chicken sandwich when she felt her phone suddenly vibrate. She opened it up and read a text from Lapis saying, "In case you couldn't tell, they're totally fucking."

Peridot nearly spit her food out after reading and immediately responded with, "LOL!" and after she decided to interject into the conversation, "I kinda know what you mean. During middle school and early high school I had to help Lapis with math and science all the time."

"Junior and senior year was hell. I couldn't rely on this nerd to get me through," Lapis explained.

"No you still came to me for help! While I was in the hospitable!" Peridot exasperated, "In fact, a week after my surgery, you brought your notes and your study guide to my bed to help you!"

"Clearly my education was more important than your medical recovery," they both laughed at Lapis' joke.

"So, Peridot, what college do you go to?" Sadie asked.

The confidence and the energy in Peridot's voice faded into a series of, "Uhh," before finally completing, "I don't have a high school diploma."

Lapis saw Peridot struggling to form the words, deciding to speak for her girlfriend, "Right now she's trying to get her GED."

"Yeah. Trying. Need to reschedule my final," Peridot muttered.

The table turned to an awkward silent while the four of them finished off their food. It was Lars who finally spoke up, "So why did you drop out of high school, Peridot?"

Lapis and Peridot tensed up, and Lapis was about to speak when the blonde stopped her, "It's fine, I can answer for myself," she didn't face Lars or Sadie, opting to stare down at the table while she recited the event that changed her life, "When I was a sophomore, so like three years ago, I got in a car crash. And well, it kinda took my leg so I had to get rid of it. A bunch of surgery and rehab that took a while, and now I'm here. Fine and dandy," she stilted her smile.

If the table wasn't awkwardly quiet before, it sure was now, "Sorry, I didn't think that-

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. I mean, it's not you who's missing a leg!" the joke got a few smiles but it missed its mark.

Eventually the four decided to their separate ways, Lars and Sadie having to go to work at a donut shop and Lapis had to go to her job. They waved to each other before they drove from the parking lot and onto the highway.

Peridot sat in the shotgun of Lapis' car, staring at the city that they were passing through. She felt the damp, limp leg of her jeans, going over what was left of her leg.

"That was the first time you told anyone about your accident," Lapis spoke up, "What made you want to tell them?"

Peridot shifted back and forth from Lapis to the road ahead of them, "I don't know. I guess, I'm moving forward. Not afraid to tell someone about this."

Peridot felt her hand embraced by Lapis, "I'm proud of you, Peri."

It was the first time that Peridot told Lapis how she lost her leg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter was Sponsored by Wendy's! Get served by a smug anime girl!
> 
> Sorry the Middle School Segment was kinda half-ass. next chapter we'll have sweet sleepover stuff :D
> 
> And SHOCKING! This Steven Universe fanfic is gonna have Steven Universe! What a surprise!


	7. Chapter 7

Peridot was tapping her foot on the carpet and fiddling with the metal of her prosthetic. Having spent two weeks in a hospitable and years in a therapist’s office, she loathed the sterile, clean environments they typically held.  
Three years ago she was stuck in a hospital for twelve days, and for a good month she was in a bed, feeling spasms of pain in a part of her body that wasn’t there anymore. Even if twelve days didn’t sound like a lot, they felt like twelve decades.  
The only brightside was that she marathoned the Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story.  
“Freakin’ Bowser,” she whispered to no one in particular, “Always sucking shit up.”  
She realized that she just said a curse word next to a child, and then she prayed to the god whose church she didn’t go to anymore that a parent was gonna get pissed at her.  
“Bowser’s pretty cool, huh?” the kid next to her asked.  
Peridot was not a people person. She was a kid person even less, so the desire to have a conversation with this kid was lower than her confidence, “Sure.”  
“I always liked Rosalina more than Bowser. She’s so pretty and awesome!” he gushed to her.  
She blurted out, “I’ve always leaned more towards Luigi,” without thinking. Luigi was cool. If you disagree you’re lying.  
“Yeah I really like him in Smash Bros!” the kid nearly cheered for joy.  
Just as Peridot was going to answer who her main was in Super Smash Bros, a man called out her name, “Peridot, I’m ready to speak with,” her therapist stopped and looked down at the kid, “Steven what have I told you about speaking with my patients?” he scolded the young boy.  
“Sorry, Mr. Maheswaran. I’m still waiting for Connie,” the so-called “Steven” explained.  
“It’s fine, just don’t bug my patients,” he turned back to Peridot, “Anyways, are you ready to speak with me?”  
Peridot nodded, shifting her weight onto her right leg first and distributed it to her left before she started walking toward Maheswaran’s office.  
Inside was the typical therapist office consisting of a leather couch, a finely-made wooden desk holding up the current Macbook, and standing before it was a black-leather swivel chair. It wreaked of the therapist aesthetic, and Peridot hated it when she first started coming. Nowadays she didn’t mind it as much, especially since she didn’t have to come every other week. She usually came once every couple of months to give an update to him so that he could take notes on her progress and pass along the medical updates to his wife, the surgeon who operated on Peridot.  
“So Peridot, it seems you’re livelier than usual,” he would always begin their conversations with what he noticed about her, but it was always an improvement, no matter how minor it was. At first Peridot thought it was really condescending, but as she showed up more and more often to his office, she didn’t mind it as much.  
“You think so?” she answered with a question.  
“Well, I only see you for this one moment of your life, so I can’t judge everything based on what I see at the lobby,” if there was anything he did appreciate about Maheswaran, is that he was the only person for a long time that was casual with her, while everyone else felt like they had to walk on eggshells when they spoke with her.  
Peridot and Doug Maheswaran spent the next half-hour talking about her life. She listed off every major event that had happened, and because she was such a nerd, what games she had beaten off her backlog. Doug listened intently, taking notes on her facial expressions, the intensity of her voice, and how her body shifted on certain subjects.  
“Well, we’re coming up on the end of our session. Is there anything else you wish to speak about?” he asked while he went over his notes.  
“Yeah,” Peridot answered, “I uh. I told someone what happened.”  
He looked up from his notes, meeting his eyes with Peridot’s, “You told someone what happened about your-  
“Yeah,” she interjected, “I was with Lapis and two of her friends at a Wendy’s, and her friend asked me about this,” she tapped the muffled metal under her jeans.  
“Well. To my knowledge this is,” he started frantically looking through his notes until he reached the begining, “The first time that you’ve told someone.”  
“Yeah. There, never was a point since everyone already knew what had happened to me,” she explained.  
Maheswaran jotted down a few things in his notes while he asked, “So why do you think it took so long for you to tell anyone about your leg?”  
She shifted herself to face forward, staring at the wall while she spoke her answer, “I was, or. I’m afraid that people will pity me for this. I don’t need pity, I’ve never needed it.”

* * *

Maheswaran opened the door to the lobby for Peridot, “Well, it was a pleasure speaking to you again, Peridot.”  
“Good talking to you,” Peridot answered, “See you in a while.”  
“You look after yourself,” he remarked while he shut the door.  
Peridot walked through the lobby, pulling out her phone to contact her mother to pick her up when a young man stood in her way.  
“Excuse me?”  
“My name is Steven Universe, what’s yours?”


	8. Chapter 8

**Middle School - Eighth Grade**

* * *

Lapis lied next to Peridot in the dark of the night. For the past hour she had done nothing but look up into the ceiling, contemplating the evening that had just transpired.

Her mother, while initially skeptical that Lapis had a friend that wanted her to spend the night, but she gave her blessings before she drove off.

The night was interesting to say the least, as Peridot's mother was a talkative woman who drove them across town to buy junk food for their night together. In all honesty, overdid the amount of food she provided for them. Chips and dip were awesome, ice cream went great with it too, and pizza was just the icing on the cake. Then she got chicken wings, potato skins, salsa, actual cake and... by the end Lapis had gotten full from just looking at the food.

Apparently Peridot used to be friends with a bigger girl who vacuumed food like nothing else, so her mother was still used to buying truckloads of food whenever she visited. In Peridot's words she was, "Destined to be a football star," as an explanation.

Lapis was never a heavy eater and chose to sample a piece of all the food, which filled her up anyway. Peridot fared only slightly better, going back for a piece of pizza and nothing else.

The rest of the evening was Peridot showing Lapis all of the video games she owned, and while Lapis had a passing interest in them, she couldn't compete with Peridot's sheer obsession. She had never seen so many games in one place before; it was almost like walking into a library, but for games.

"My relatives know I like games and whenever they visit they tend to... shower me in gifts," she rubbed the back of her head, "My parents are real strict on my grades being high so they don't let me completely sink into games."

For the next few hours, Peridot droned on and on about all the games she played, occasionally stopping to let her join in for a round of Melee, where she got her ass kicked by Peridot's Luigi. That lasted until Mrs. Olivine requested that they head to bed so they could wake up early the next morning. According to Peridot, it was always a request first and then it became an order, and if things got real bad, it became a demand.

While Lapis was staring into the ceiling above her, she felt the sleeping girl turn to her. Even in the dark, she could still make out her cute face. For the first time she saw what Peridot looked like without her glasses, and Lapis could not keep her eyes off of her.

"Psst, hey. Peridot," she whispered, gently nudging the sleeping nerd.

"Huh?" she groggily responded, "Lapis, wh-what time is it?" she rubbed her eyes while she yawned.

"Can I ask you something?"

The blonde tilted her head, "You can use the bathroom if you want, you don't-

"No, I wanted to ask if," Lapis paused to focus on Peridot's green eyes, "If I moved away, would you miss me?"

Peridot was fully woken up by these words, "What do you mean? Are you, moving already?"

"No, it's just. I've never asked anyone if they would miss me. I mean, they say I'll miss you, but," she stopped herself, "When I moved from town to town, after a while I don't miss them anymore. I liked those people but even after just a week, of living here, I don't even miss my friends in California anymore," getting these words out felt like pulling rocks out of her throat, "I'm certain in another week I'll forget their names and their faces. And I wonder if the same thing is happening to them," she focused back on Peridot, "So can you tell me, if I left town tomorrow, and even if I forget your name and your face, would you still remember me?"

Peridot didn't answer her new friend's question, choosing to hold onto her and bring her close. For what felt like hours, the two didn't say a word, the only mutual noise between them being their breathing and the beating of their hearts.

Peridot broke the silence by replying, "Only if you promise that you will never forget me."

For the first of many times thereafter, Peridot saw Lapis smile through the dark, and to her it was the most beautiful thing she ever saw, "Considering how much talking you've done, I don't think I'll ever be able to forget you."

The two burst out laughing, but quiet themselves after hearing Peridot's father shuffle and groan in his sleep from across the hall, "So, I swiped this from your games cause," Lapis presented Peridot with Pokemon Leafgreen and a Gameboy Advance, "I've never played a Pokemon game before, and I'd like to play one with you."

"I'd love to," Peridot snuggled up next to Lapis, their faces lit by the GBA's screen as they played through an adventure, filled with Lapis getting her bearings, naming her Pokemon after Naruto characters (while she already named the main character Sasuke and named the rival Naruto), and Peridot getting frustrated with the weeaboo.

Before the two went to bed, they had already beaten Misty at three in the morning, with Iruka the Staryu, Rock Lee the Mankey, and Zetsu the Bulbasaur.

* * *

**College - Freshman Year Second Semester**

* * *

"Miss Lazuli, if you would please pay attention to my class, I would greatly appreciate it," Lapis' teacher reprimanded her, "I feel I shouldn't have to remind you all, but I will anyway, that sleeping is reserved when you are not in my class. And I would ask that Miss Lazuli internalize this lesson."

The professor went back to delivering his lecture while Sadie tapped on her shoulder, "Hey. What's up with you?"

Lapis looked down at the shorter blonde, "Just thinking back on some old memories."

* * *

A beat up sedan pulled up in the teacher parking lot, and out stepped a diminutive woman wearing a pair of sunglasses while she popped gum, "So. Where's Pearl?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the quickest I've updated a fanfiction in over two years. What the fuck happened to me? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I just want to clarify, I am not a Naruto fan. My friend is and that is why I know all these names. But a Staryu being named Iruka is a reference to Naruto Abridged by Little Kuriboh.
> 
> Also, what the heck?! Who is this new person in a sedan?! Find out next time!


	9. Chapter 9

**College Freshman Year Second Semester ******

* * *

After a few hours of her normal classes and studying, it was already time for swim practice. She wasn't expecting the practice to be anything more than just a good workout that would end in a rousing speech from her coach that she probably already told.

Lo and behold, her expectations were fulfilled and she soon found herself sitting on the bleachers, listening to her coach's rousing speech. Only, just now were her expectations betrayed.

"I am very proud of how far all of you come. No matter how we do in the meets, you will still have exceeded your limitations and become greater than-

The door was slammed open and a short woman stood at the entrance, "WHAT'S UP, PEARL?!"

For the first time in the year that Lapis had known Coach Pearl, she had never heard so much panic in her voice, "AMETHYST?!" the woman's arrival surprised Pearl so bad that the coach fell into the pool.

As Pearl drifted in the depths of the pool, she thought about how her previously conceived thinking that after graduating from college, she would never had seen the likes of Diana Amethyst again.

When Pearl finally surfaced, she heard Amethyst's laughter filling the echoey room, "Ok, ok. Holy shit that was pretty good, P."

One of the members of the swim team raised her hand and asked, "Are you alright, Coach?"

Pearl responded while clutching the bridge of her nose, "Far from it," she tried to pretend that Amethyst did not exist for a moment, "Alright, practice is over. Go home."

* * *

Pearl walked into her office where the short, Tejana woman was sitting in her swivel chair, "First you show up to my practice and scare me into a pool and then you have the audacity to sit in MY chair!" Pearl exasperated, but still sat down at the smaller chair on the other side of her desk, "What are you doing here, Diana?"

She popped a bubble of gum before speaking, "First of all, I know it's been like six years since we last saw each other but I thought I made it perfectly clear that if you're gonna call me anything, you're gonna call me Amethyst," she propped her feet on Pearl's desk, "And secondly, I came to visit my old roommate SLASH best friend!"

Pearl was the epitome of unimpressed, "Please take your feet off my desk," she sighed, "Do you even have a visitor badge? You could get into serious trouble if you came here without one."

"Hmm, nope. I don't think I have one of those,"

Pearl groaned, "Look you can't just barge into places that you don't belong without getting into trouble. I tried explaining this to you in college, but you never listened and that's why-

"I do got one of these things tho," Amethyst held up a plastic card pulled from her purse.

"What is this?" Pearl read the card, seeing Amethyst's face on it while describing herself as, "Wait you're a professor?!"

"Pfft, haha!" Amethyst burst out laughing, "I was looking forward to that all day! Yep, as of today I'm the new professor for Advanced Algebra!"

"ADVANCED ALGEBRA?!"

Pearl's outburst caught the attention of the few swimmers that were passing by. Lapis merely shrugged her shoulders and chose to go home, while her coach was still going nuts in her office.

"How did you become a teacher for advanced algebra?!" Pearl demanded, "I thought you were going into cosmetology or something?"

"Look Pearl, I know my hair is fucking dope but I wasn't going to a four year college so I could fix up hair. I was there to study space yo!" she explained.

"So, cosmology?"

"Bingo. It's still what my masters is,"

"M-masters?! You have a masters in cosmology?" Pearl stammered.

"And it's my bachelor. I really wanted to like, be an astronaut or some space shit like that, but then I thought, huh. You know I actually really like math, so I got my PhD in Algebra. I'm like, a doctor," Amethyst explained.

"So for the past six years-

"I've been hitting the books while you've been hitting the pool, and I gotta say, you hitting the pool has done wonders," Amethyst checked out her old friend.

The silence that sprung up became rather awkward, as neither of them knew how to respond, "So I guess we're co-workers now," Pearl stated.

"Guess we are!" Amethyst hopped out of Pearl's chair and walked towards the door, "Oh, we should get lunch together sometime, Pearl. I'd love to have you," she winked at the swimming coach and closed the door.

Pearl stood and watched Amethyst leave through the window and asked herself, "Did she just flirt with me?"

* * *

"So let's get this one thing straight, you did a playthrough of Dark Souls," Peridot started her interrogation of Steven Universe.

"Yep, and I've only played it once," he added joyfully.

"Right. And you did it with only shields?"

"Yep. I don't really like swords all that much, but I love shields!"

"And you were able to save Solaire,"

"Yep,"

"And you were able to not kill Priscilla and be friends with her?"

"She's really pretty!"

"And let me get this straight, you killed Gwyn but you didn't light the fire or walked away?"

"I didn't think either was the best choice for humanity, so I just turned off the game," Steven explained his adventures in the world of Dark Souls.

"Either you're some Lovecraftian being that has no concept of right and wrong, only neutral, or you are literally the purest child I've ever met," Peridot gave her scientific deduction of the young man.

"Well what did you do when you um, defeated Gwyn?" Steven asked.

Peridot dramatically raised her hand to the sky and clenched it into a fist, "I let the flame burn out so that I could reign over humanity as the dark lord!" she declared.

She suddenly realized they were outside in public when a man in a yellow shirt remarked, "Yeah you need therapy."

Peridot and Steven watched the man walk away, and the young woman grew silent, "Well that was a great help to my mood."

"Hey, he's just a jerk, don't listen to him," Steven consoled her, "Hey, I have a great idea for you. You like them video games, don't cha?"

She raised an eyebrow, "If it wasn't obvious, yes I do. I am what you would call a gamer.” 

“Awesome! I know of this one place that sells old games for real cheap!” Steven pulled out his phone and brought up a map, “It’s a little far though, but we’d be back before dark.”

"Kid you realize you're asking an eighteen-year old girl to come with you. Do you realize how bad that will make someone look?" Peridot tried reasoning.

"I'm fourteen though,"

* * *

Every fiber and steel atom in Peridot's being was telling her that Steven was a lying sack of shit that wanted to score some amputated booty. She wouldn't admit that to his face because she was not a monster. But regardless, she still let the kid drag her all over town on a bus. She got a few glares from some of the other bus patrons, but Steven was busy blabbing about the city for her to notice all that much.

"You know, Steven it is a Wednesday and it's four in the afternoon. Why aren't you in school?" Peridot asked.

"My dad homeschools me," he answered, "Why aren't you in school?"

"None of your business," she snapped, before relenting, "I dropped out of highschool so I haven't been able to get into college yet."

"Why haven't you gotten into college?" Steven asked innocently.

"Haven't got my GED yet,"

"Why haven't you gotten your GED?"

"No more questions," Peridot stopped the conversation she hated having, "So where are we headed?"

As if on cue, the bus stopped and Steven led the girl off onto the sidewalk. She looked around, trying to find anything she recognized.

"Damn, this kid dragged me halfway across town. I don't know where I am, and I'm certain mother is going to kill me once she starts tracking my phone," Peridot was thinking to herself out loud while Steven stared at her.

"Um, we're in New Braunfels," he answered the question he overheard her thinking about.

"NEW BRAUNFELS?! YOU DRAGGED ME ALL THE WAY OUT HERE?! I LOVE VIDEO GAMES AS MUCH AS THE NEXT AMPUTEE," coincidentally, they were standing next to a veteran who had lost his arm and gave them the biggest "what the heck" look, "BUT I DON'T WANT TO GO TO THE NEXT TOWN TO OGLE AT THEM!"

"Then why did you follow you me here?" Steven asked, with Peridot still in tow.

"ERRGH! SHUT UP WITH THE QUESTIONS! I'VE GOT THAT MAHESWARAN TO DO THAT FOR ME!" Peridot shouted, "So, where are we going?"

Steven pointed his thumb to a store next to a pizza place and adjacent to the road. Peridot adjusted her glasses upon inspection, reading the name of the place.

"So is this place legit?"

Steven pulled out a pair of cheap aviators from his cheeseburger backpack, "Oh it's legit."

On the inside, a scruffy man in a beanie was reading a manga drawn by Amami Takatsume when the two walked into his shop, "Welcome. How may I help you?"

"The bits," Steven remarked.

* * *

An hour later, Steven and Peridot were back on the bus heading back to San Antonio, admiring each other's hauls, "That was incredible! That was the best haul I've had in years. I only spent fifty bucks and look at all of this stuff! It's incredible!" she looked up to Steven, "Where did you find that place?"

"My dad played at a show in town once and we passed it once. I went there a few times and was gonna take Connie there with me, but then you came along," Steven held up a copy of Final Fantasy VII, "Is this one any good?"

"First of all! This is not the best Final Fantasy game, it's the fourth best! Right behind VI, IX, and XII! Second of all, if this was a vain attempt at hitting on me," she pulled out her phone and opened the lock screen, "I already have a girlfriend! And I sold my leg to buy her a ring!" she pulled up the leg of her pants to show off the metal limb, "And third of all, you dumped that girl you were gonna bring for me?"

Steven pondered for a few moments, "So what you're saying is, I should have brought Connie too?"

"Is this kid a player or something?" Peridot thought to herself as the bus came to a stop.

"Anyway, this is your stop. I do hope to see you again!" Steven waved to her.

Peridot looked out the window and saw it was where their journey started, "You ride the bus a lot. You just know where everything is."

Steven nodded, "My dad uses his van to get to and from work and that's it. Whenever we go anywhere we usually take the bus," he explained, "It was nice meeting you! I hope to see you again!"

Peridot stepped off the bus and watched Steven wave to her as the bus took off. She pulled out her phone and called her mother, "Hey, mom. I know this will sound weird but this kid dragged me to New Braunfels for video games," she explained, "I swear to god, no! Anyway can you give me a ride?"

The blonde hung up her phone and looked down at the stack of games she held in her arms and back at the bus driving away, "Steven Universe. First time I will say this about any kid but, I hope to see him again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT. This chapter had a lot of errors in it, and I'm surprised I didn't notice sooner. If you guys spot any errors let me know.
> 
> References made! The guy who insulted Peridot in the yellow shirt? That was supposed to be a reference to Eddy from Ed, Edd N Eddy.
> 
> The video game store they went to was called the D-Pad and if any of my readers live near New Braunfels should go there as it's one of the best places I've been to for video games.
> 
> The manga artist Amami Takatsume is the person who draws for Senran Kagura. This was intended to be a reference to Metal Gear Rising Revengeance when Raiden and Wolf go to the airfield where the gatekeeper is reading that manga with the animu girls.
> 
> I would say what games that Peridot and Steven got, but I'm not sure what games Peridot would so... whatever PS2 games you're looking for getting and only eight of them, Peridot got them. Steven just got Final Fantasy VII.
> 
> Third update in one month. I am on a roll. I hope you guys are enjoying the story. And there will be a reason Amethyt's name is not Amethyst Quartz. It'll be explained later with... the Famethyst.
> 
> See ya'll later.


	10. Chapter 10

**High School Sophomore Year Second Semester**

* * *

Normal lunch as usual, with the food holding the world record for mediocrity and the many students cursing the name of Michelle Obama. Lapis Lazuli stared down at the pile of food on her gray platter while her friends chattered away.  
“Hey, Lapis! Where’s Peri?” one of her friends asked.  
The blue-haired girl looked up to across the table, “I have no idea. She said she had a ‘surprise’ for me but I have no idea what that could mean.”  
“Yeah! With Peridot that could literally mean anything!” another friend from her group agreed.  
If today had gone how she thought it always would, Lapis would have munched on the mediocre food, but today, nor Peridot, had that in mind.  
The intercom in the cafeteria suddenly came to life, and the sounds of an amplifier starting up with a piano starting to play.  
“Oh no. Please don’t tell me,” Lapis blurted out.  
“The Darkside’s coming out nothing is real. She’ll never know just how I feel,” on que, Peridot’s singing filled the entire cafeteria. The sound quality wasn’t great, Peridot didn’t have the greatest singing voice, but the passion of her voice and of her piano playing more than made up for it.  
“From out of the shadows she walks like a dream. Make me feel crazy make me feel so mean! Ain’t nothing gonna save you from the love that’s blind, slip into the dark side and cross that line!” suddenly more instruments began playing from Peridot’s piano program, while the girl stepped up from her electronic instrument to a mike stand. With a nod to a janitor she paid off, the curtains to the stage in the cafeteria opened, “On the darkside! Oh yeaah! On the darksiiide! Oh yeaaah!”  
When the song’s rhythm changed, Peridot started dancing to the rhythm, now with an audience of the entire student body. Eventually the clapping in the song got everyone to start clapping along too. Just as Peridot started singing, she rapidly tapped her feet on the floor to the drum, “The Darkside’s coming out nothing is real. She’ll never know just how I feel! From out of the shadows she walks like a dream. Make me feel crazy make me feel so mean! Ain’t nothing gonna save you from the love that’s blind, slip into the dark side and cross that line!” just before Peridot had to sing more lines, she ran for a saxophone and slipped the strap on before running back to the mic, “On the darkside! Oh yeaah! On the darksiiide! Oh yeaaah!”  
Now even more skillfully, Peridot played a long, sick, and awesome sax solo that was even louder than the song playing through her piano.  
The whole time, she never stopped looking at Lapis. She knew where Lapis was sitting and kept her eyes on her the whole time. If it weren’t for the fact it would have gotten her suspended with her, she would have invited her on stage to dance.  
“Ain’t nothing gonna save you from the love that’s blind, slip into the dark side and cross that line! On the darkside! Oh yeaah! On the darksiiide! Oh yeaaah!”  
The song ended with Peridot bowing to her fellow classmates who bellowed in cheers. She rubbed the back of her head while she blushed from the praise. She looked through the crowd for Lapis, unable to find her amongst the sea of faces. Not helping matters was the intercom going, “Would Peridot Olivine please report to the principal’s office!”  
With no choice, Peridot grabbed her saxophone, her keyboard, bowed to the audience and walked towards the fate of her academic career. While the crowd cheered for her name, she couldn’t stop searching for Lapis.  
“Well, time to face the music,” Peridot muttered to herself, raising her fist while she left the cafeteria.

* * *

While she was walking to her car, she thought of the conversation with the principal that mainly was him complaining and raising hell at her for disrupting lunch. Ultimately, after an hour long throwdown, the old man suspended her for a week and gave her another week of detention. She was expecting worse, and thought that the only reason the old bastard didn’t expel her was that he liked the song she sung.  
Peridot opened the backseat to her shitty, white car and placed her instruments inside, “Hey.”  
The blonde hit her head on the car roof when she heard her voice, “Oh, hey,” she replied while she rubbed the back of her head, “So, uh. How are you?”  
Lapis raised an eyebrow, “How am I? How am I?” she leaned against Peridot’s car, “Well, the girl that I’ve been best friends with for two and a half years goes on stage, sings her heart out, and it’s clearly to me about how she loves me and I don’t know how to react to that!” Lapis poured her heart out, “I’ve been alright.”  
“You figured out what that song was about pretty quick, huh?”  
“You didn’t hide it to me very well,” she admitted.  
For a few moments, the two of them said nothing as they watched the Texas Sun set into the horizon, “So. Did you like the song?”  
Lapis turned to her best friend, put her arms around her and held her tight, “I loved it. I loved it almost as much as I loved you.”  
Peridot hugged Lapis back, pulling her in as much as she possibly could, “I’ve known you for two years, and I think I’ve loved you for a year.”  
“Pfft, that’s nothing. I’ve started loving since we played Pokemon in bed for the first time,”  
Peridot looked into Lapis face and started piecing things together, “So you’ve loved me since eighth grade?”  
“Yep. Congratulations, Peridot, you turned me gay,” they shared a laugh for a little while, “So I gotta ask. What now?”  
Peridot reached for her keys and held them up, “I’ve got the perfect place in mind.”

* * *

In a corner of some Wataburger, Peridot Olivine and Lapis Lazuli sat across from each other, eating chicken strips.  
They said nothing to each other, basking in their own company as old country music played, “The Swim Finals are coming up soon,” Lapis suddenly brought up, “Will you be there?”  
Peridot looked up and nodded, “Nothing will stop me from watching you swim!”

* * *

**College Freshman Year Second Semester**

* * *

Peridot looked down at her prosthetic leg, randomly tapped the metal and thought, “I’m hungry for some chicken tenders.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little story as to how Peridot and Lapis got into a relationship. 
> 
> This story is meant to be non-linear so just sit back and enjoy yourselves you crazy kids :D, it'll be like Pulp Fiction, except without the violence and the foot fetishism.


	11. Chapter 11

**College Freshman Year Second Semester**

* * *

“So what’s happening with your coach?” Sadie asked her blue-haired friend.  
Her voice bounced off the echoey walls of the study-room they checked out. Lapis looked away from her book to answer, “So, a week ago we’re having practice. You know it’s about to end, Coach is giving us those pep talks she always does. Then out of nowhere this woman bursts through the door like she’s known Coach all of her life, and poor coach, she fell in the water like this lady was a monster.”  
“Is she a monster for Aragonite?”  
“Maybe? I’ve never seen her before. I think her name was Diana Amethyst?” Lapis guessed what she overheard her coach yelled.  
“This isn’t the same Diana Amethyst that’s the new Advanced Algebra teacher, right?”  
“You sure? This lady did not look like she was a math teacher,”  
Sadie shrugged, “Hey, stranger things have happened,” she reached for her phone and started texting out loud, “Where, the, heck, are, you, we’ve, been, waiting, for, the, food, for, twenty, minutes.”  
A very dirty joke came to Lapis’ mind, “Do you do that when you’re sexting him?”  
Sadie reached for the nearest pencil and threw it at the blue-haired girl, “You pervert!”  
Lapis dodged the pencil and proceeded to guffaw at her, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist!”  
Lars walked into the study room, a bag of potato chips in one hand, and an eyebrow raised on his face, “Fucking book store was packed and I had to wait fifteen minutes to get these lousy snacks.”  
Though Lapis was going to criticize him for his life choices, it did not stop her from opening the bag of chips and inhaling them, “Why didn’t you go to the general store a mile down the road? It’s cheaper and way faster than the book store.”  
Lars shrugged, “You’re talking to a guy who doesn’t own a car.”  
“He relies on me to get him everywhere,” Sadie explained.  
“It’s why we’ve had the same job since we were sophomores in high school,” Lars finished while he popped open a cold Red Bull with the girls.  
The conversation weaved in and out of studying to the random small talk that most teens do, to the discussion of anime, though it was mostly between Sadie and Lapis.  
Sadie and Lapis met last semester, as they were assigned together as roommates. They managed to hit it off rather well when Sadie brought her collection of anime and horror DVDs. Ever since then, many nights were spent discussing the garbage animes they loved dearly. And Yaoi Naruto pairings, which Lapis drew fanart of and Sadie wrote some hardcore, trash fanfics. If Lapis hadn’t fallen for Peridot and Sadie sort of but not really as it’s kind of hard to tell but Lapis could totally see it while Peridot could see it if she adjusted her glasses, kinda but probably has feelings for the walking stick known as Lars, then she'd date Sadie.  
“Oh god, did you finally update your fic?” Lapis asked.  
“Haha, yeah. Kinda. I was stumped on how to write it, so I asked for some help and the answer was-  
“Make it gay,” they said in unison.  
“That is always the answer, and should be the ending statement for every debate,” Lapis declared while sipping her drink.  
“Damn skippy,” Sadie agreed, raising her drink to their declaration.  
Lars sulked, pulling out his phone so that he can subtweet his friends. Lars was always one to subtweet people.  
“So how has Peridot been? It’s been like a week since we saw her at Wendy’s,” Sadie started that conversation.  
“She’s been alright. I haven’t talked to her in a few days,” Lapis reached for her phone to check, “She hasn’t messaged me either.”  
Sadie and even Lars looked toward Lapis, “Are you guys mad at each other or something?” Lars asked.  
“No. We sometimes don’t talk to each other for a little while,” Lapis mentioned, “If you want to know the awful truth, I feel pretty good when we take breaks from seeing each other.”  
“This is, the first I’m hearing of this,” Sadie stated, “You guys have been dating for three years right?”  
“It’s more accurate to say we’ve been dating for one of them,” she looked down at a Staryu charm, hanging on a rope from her phone, “After she got in that crash, she just, shut down.”  
The silence from touchy subjects like these came upon the group. Lars and Sadie weren’t sure if they should let Lapis let the silence continue or they should ask more about her.  
It inevitably fell on Lars to break the silence, “I have been thinking. With the injury Peridot has she should have been able to start school in only a month or two. Why didn’t she finish high school?”  
Lapis finally turned away from her friends to face a wall, “That’s the million dollar question,” she replied, thinking about those many moons where she worried about her into the morning, “When I said she she shut down, she emotionally and physically shut down. She would hardly eat, she never left her room, and she wouldn’t wear her prosthetic. I was the only person she would communicate with.  
“Which like that’s great and all but, for three years it felt like I wasn’t dating her. It felt like I was just emotional support and nothing else. We’ve technically been dating for three years, but we didn’t REALLY start dating until a year ago, and only six months of that time I would actually call being in a relationship.  
“And don’t get me wrong, I love Peridot! Like, every time I see her it makes me happy, and I’ve been in love with her since we were in junior high! It made me the happiest otaku in the world when she asked if we could date, but half a decade later, fuck! We haven’t gone on a date! We just go to fast food and watch shitty Netflix shows! Like we are the bare minimum of dating. We haven’t even had sex yet! We do that cuddly shit, and yeah we’ve showered together, wait hold up,” Lapis reached for a Red Bull, popped it open, pulled out a flask from her backpack, poured in the Red Bull and chugged it, “And Jesus Christ, it’s taken an entire year for her to come out of that cave of hers just to watch my fucking,” she chugged more of the vodka Red Bull, “My fucking, weeaboo ass to dive. Like fuck!”  
The two grew more concerned as she chugged the entire alcoholic concoction and then chugged her flask, “I fucking, give everything to her. Cause I love her and I want to marry her one day and motorboat those sugartits all damn day! But I don’t get anything back. And like, fuck. What happened to that girl who got suspended just cause she wanted to sing a song about how much she loved me? That girl who wasn’t afraid to nerd out about video games to me. I know all the Pokeymans cuz of her! And she fucking plays that Overwatch game, but I don’t fucking know who she plays! I don’t know anything ‘cept I want that girl in the flying suit to fuck me like there’s no tomorrow!”  
Lapis looked through the flask’s opening, and besides the drop of vodka that fell on her forehead, it was empty, “I love that blonde bitch. I wouldn’t have stuck with her since high school if I didn’t love her. But fucking, I don’t fucking know anymore,” she collapsed on the table.  
Lars and Sadie looked at each other, not sure what to do with the drunk girl besides drag her out of the study room and back to her and Sadie’s dorm, “After one drink and you’re already drunk. What kind of lightweight are you?” he asked while he threw all of Lapis’ stuff into her bag.  
“Hey, I maybe a lightweight but that was very strong vodka,” she mumbled through her words, “I’m sorry.”  
“You owe us some favors for this, just letting you know,” Sadie notified her roommate as they got her on her feet.  
It took a bit of sneaking around so the study room manager didn’t notice a drunk girl walking through. Eventually Lars parted with them when they approached the woman’s dorm. Lapis and Sadie made it back to their dorm, and while she left Lapis to do some more studying with Lars, Lapis wandered into the shower, turning the water to as cold as it could be so it would wake her out of daze. But as her mind began to clear, more thoughts on her girlfriend poured in.  
“I love you. I love you so much,” her tears started mixing with the water, “But I can’t keep this up. I can’t,” she hit the wall of her shower and looked up at the water, “Do you love me yet? Fucking prove it, Peridot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's more to the name of this fic being called Fragments. Peridot and Lapis are fragmented in more ways than one.
> 
> The next chapter should be out soon. I have a really cool idea for it and I hope you all enjoy it.
> 
> And friendly reminder that Pearl's last name is Aragonite. The kind of rock that Pearl is is Aragonite, like how the kind of rock Peridot is is Olivine. Noticing a theme?


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figure using context clues, you should figure out when we're switching time periods, but if it's too confusing, let me know and I'll edit them in. Won't look as nice, but whatevs.

**Highschool - Sophomore Year Second Semester**

* * *

Peridot bowed her head, "Dear god. It's me. I know we haven't talked in awhile. I haven't gone to church in six years, and I'm not even sure if I still believe in you," the blonde squeezed the rubber of her steering wheel, "It's rude of me to ask when I've said those things, but can I ask for a favor or two?"

* * *

**Two weeks Prior**

* * *

Peridot held the door open for her new girlfriend, "So what do you want to do now? I've got a new game I want to play. You might be into it."

Lapis sipped soda out of her straw, "That depends," she walked closer to Peridot, her height starting to outgrow the blonde's, "Are your parents going to be home?"

Peridot looked up to the sky for answers, "Yeah. She's usually home by this hour."

As they got into Peridot's car, Lapis suggested, "You know my mom isn't home for a few days. We could hang out at my house," she offered while clicking her seatbelt in.

Peridot had thoughts racing through her head, unsure how to comprehend how fast thing were moving, "I mean. I can't go to school for a two weeks so, not like staying at your place is gonna hurt," she looked to Lapis and a wave of confidence rushed through her, "You know what? Why not!" she turned the ignition and sped out of the parking lot.

* * *

"I'm gonna be gone for a while. I'm gonna leave a lot of people behind, but especially Lapis," she had been praying in her head, but she spoke her love's name out loud. More memories flowed through her head and she had to stop the flow to get her thoughts through, "I want you to look over her, and make sure she's ok."

* * *

It wasn't very common for Peridot to visit Lapis' place as her mother preferred that they were over at the Olivine residence so she could keep an eye on the, and to be brutally honest, Lapis' house wasn't very clean most of the time and it was much smaller than Peridot's.

The two walked through the empty living room/foyer/dining room to a small hallway with two doors on each end, the left leading to Ms. Lazuli's room, and the right going into Lapis'. When Peridot first visited her home, it was a terrifying view into the world of otaku with anime posters and mini-figurines lain about everywhere. Never had Peridot seen so much weebness in one place.

The room and the house in a whole was much different without Ms. Lazuli, it was eerily quiet and empty. With no one else, Lapis and Peridot could hear each other's heartbeats reverberate off the walls.

"So. What do you want to do?" Peridot asked, not sure what to do in her girlfriend's room, "Do you wanna watch a movie?"

Lapis laid down in her bed, looking straight into the ceiling, "Can I be real with you?"

Peridot paused, unable to find a proper answer for her, "I mean. Today has been nothing but being real, so I don't know why not?"

The blue-haired girl looked down at her, "This is gonna be heavy but," she closed her reyes and let out a short breath of air, "Peri. How much do I mean to you?"

* * *

Peridot's heart skipped a beat, "She means everything to me. I don't know how I could have gone these past two years without her," drops of tears started falling on her jeans, "I love her so much!"

* * *

"Wow. I. I guess that's why you sang to me on stage," even though she started their "real" conversation, Lapis was still surprised by Peridot's answer.

"I guess I poured my heart out to you twice today," Peridot laughed, rubbing the back of her head before sitting on Lapis' bed, "What about me? What do I mean to you?"

Lapis pulled herself up and moved next to the blonde, "I suppose it's my turn to pour my heart out," she sighed, "You have no idea, how grateful I am that I met you. I'm pretty sure I'd be in the ground if I didn't have you."

Peridot couldn't say a word, as she was struck in a terror one feels for a loved one sitting on an edge of a cliff, only able to spit out, "Oh."

Lapis immediately started talking when she saw the shift in Peridot's mood, "Sorry. I don't mean for things to be heavy. I haven't had those feelings since I moved here," she put her arm around, "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

* * *

At this point, Peridot was bawling, "So please, while I'm gone. I want you to give her a great life. She deserves it. Way more than me. Please."

* * *

"Have you had your first kiss?" Lapis asked suddenly.

"No. How about you?" Peridot whispered, her heart rate increasing more by every second she spent looking at Lapis.

"Yeah. Kissed a hick in Kansas City just so I could see what it was like," Lapis smiled, "That was the first sign that I was gay."

They shared a short laugh before Lapis admitted, "I've kissed a few girls and boys. But I never felt anything."

Peridot swallowed all of the timidness inside of her and asked, "Do you think you would feel something with me?"

Lapis moved closer to Peridot, pushing some of her girlfriend's hair back, "Let's find out."

Peridot could feel her heart wanting to burst out of her chest, and even though every corner of her body was as tense as a horror film, she somehow relaxed her lips as they moved their faces closer together.

Peridot tilted her head, and closed her eyes as she felt Lapis' lips pressing against her own. Her soft lips moved more aggressively than her, meshing Peridot's lips between her own. Peridot's eyes nearly shot out of her head when she felt Lapis' tongue brush her's, but closed her eyes, and focused everything on Lapis Lazuli.

Time didn't exist. The world around them could have disappeared, but all that matter to them was each other. They didn't move faster or slower, keeping the same pace until they broke the kiss off. They were finally able to catch their breaths as they pressed their heads together, and when they finally opened their eyes, Peridot asked, "Did you feel anything?"

"I felt," she paused to bring her arms around Peridot and pull her close, "Like I love you."

* * *

The tears had finally stopped. Peridot braced herself as she ended her prayer, "Please, God. Give her the life she deserves. Give her someone she can love, as much as I loved her. I'll see you soon. Amen."

Peridot Olivine clutched the wheel of her car, looked up and spoke as she braced herself, "I'll miss you, Lapis."

Bang.

* * *

**You're gonna carry that weight, Peridot ******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How fitting that I posted this on Sunday :D  
> but seriously. Hope you enjoyed it! Hope you liked this method of story telling. It's kind of a non-linear way to tell it, but you know.


	13. Chapter 13

**College Freshman Year Second Semester**

* * *

Peridot was one of those people that would always wear a jacket no matter the weather nor the time of year. It didn’t matter if it was the middle of Texas Spring, she would wear a jacket, zip it up and sit in a corner. Maybe she would unzip it enough so people could see the design on her t-shirt, which more often than not was an alien shirt. Sometimes it was a video game themed shirt, and today it was. Only it was for one of those fanservice weeb games that only Peridot enjoyed. So in order to preserve the innocent of the youth from the clutches of anime, Peridot zipped her jacket up and tight as she and Steven sat on the bus, driving through town.  
“So where are we stopping again? I still can’t believe I’m letting a twelve-year old drag me across this town,” Peridot thought out loud.  
“I thought I told you I’m fourteen,” Steven Universe attempted to kindly correct his new friend with a big smile on his face.  
“And I lost my leg in the Gulf War,” Peridot sarcastically responded.  
Steven, on the other hand, took her dead seriously “You did?! I did not know that you’re a war veteran!?”  
Peridot could only blink at the kid that seemed so intelligent, but was so gullible at the same time, “No I didn’t lose my leg in the war, and I’m not a veteran. I’m only like 18.”  
“I thought you were much older,” Steven blurted out.  
Peridot wasn’t sure if she should take that as an insult or just chalk it up as youthful innocence. If it were anyone else, she would have told them off, but she held back with Steven. But then she started wondering, if he was fourteen, did that mean he really did know what he was saying? For a solid minute, these thoughts clouded her mind without any end in sight.  
“Soo, I gotta ask. If you were in college, what would you be studying?” Steven randomly asked.  
“What would I be studying? That’s simple. I would be studying to become an astrophysicist,”  
“A what what?”  
“An astrophysicist. Someone who studies the universe. Don’t they teach you this in highschool?”  
“I don’t go to highschool. My dad homeschools me,”  
“Lucky ba-  
Steven looked up at her waiting for the rest of the sentence. Peridot once again racked her brain if it was morally ok to use swears around him.  
“Looks like we’re here!” Steven jumped off the seat to their bus and ran off with Peridot following behind. She walked after the young man, taking some envy that he was as tall as she was. The people in Peridot’s family were naturally short, but Peridot was shorter than the average Olivine, and she blamed the loss of her leg on this, despite the fact her doctors told her that it would have no effect for someone her age.  
Peridot needed a reason to be angry at her height, so she took any reason given to her.  
Steven walked backwards and watched her prosthetic leg walk, “Is it hard to walk with that?”  
“No. I mean, yes, but you get used to it,” she vaguely answered.  
“How much of your leg is gone?”  
She never liked it when people asked these questions, as it brought attention to herself, and very rarely did Peridot ever desire attention from other people. But she stopped walking to point to the part of her jeans where the last bit of her thigh was organic.  
“Oh wow! How’d that happen?” Steven asked the only question Peridot would never give.  
“And that was our interview with Miss Olivine!” she jested to him, “I’d rather not talk about that. Anything else is fine, I guess.”  
“Alright. Do you have a cool hidden weapon in your leg?”  
“Actually, I asked the manufacturer if they could put a hidden compartment for a knife or soda cans but they told me it would mess up the balance,” at the mention of soda, Peridot wiped the sweat off her forehead, “Man it’s hot out today.”  
“Maybe that’s because you’re wearing a jacket,” Seven pointed out the obvious, and before Peridot could rebuttal his right yet unneeded truth, he proclaimed, “WE’RE HERE!”  
She looked to where Steven was pointing and was unimpressed, “We’re headed here? This lame donut shop?!”  
To be fair to Peridot, the donut shop wasn’t very impressive, as it looked as generic as every other damned donut domain, but Steven seemed adamant that it was worth checking out and it was still considered early in the morning, so Peridot relented and followed Steven into the shop.  
She was nearly sure that the place was abandoned when they walked in. It felt creepy to Peridot, walking into a store with evidence of life and yet none at all, like if the world were prepared only for her, but she would never find a soul living in it.  
Well that wasn’t the case as the employee door opened, “SORRY! Welcome to-  
In all of Steven Universe’s power, he could have not foreseen a more awkward moment, and even if he could, there would be no way to prevent it.  
“Oh uh, hi. You’re Sally, right?” after at least a week without seeing a person, it was difficult for Peridot to remember someone’s name, and to her credit she did get the first letter and general sound of the name right, but she still screwed up the name, equipping the Awkwardness with a +12 Uncomfortable Gauntlets.  
Thankfully, Sadie was merciful and didn’t harp on Peridot’s forgetfulness, “It’s Sadie,” but it still contributed to the general awkwardness.  
“Sorry, it’s uh, good to see you again,” Peridot muttered.  
And though Steven unknowingly started the most awkward situation he had ever witnessed, he still saved the two women from awkward-radiation, “Sadie, I found out a few days ago that my friend here has never had a Cookie Cat.”  
“NOOOO!” the screams of a dying man came from the back-room, as a tall, lanky man came out with a frosted box in his hands.  
“What’s wrong, Lars?” Steven asked.  
“You know these guys?” Peridot questioned him.  
“Yeah, this is the closest donut shop to my home. And they’re the only people who still have Cookie Cat!”  
Lars dropped the box on the counter, taking deep breaths to recover while he opened the box of Cookie Cats, “I’m convinced he’s the only person who ever eats these things. Oh and hi, Peridot.”  
“Ohhh! He’s a frozen treat with an all new taste! Cause he came to this planet from outer space!” Steven began singing when he saw the endless amount of Cookie Cats in the box, “A refugee in an interstellar war!”  
Lars and Peridot met through eye contact and he confirmed, “Just let it happen and it will be over sooner.”  
“But now he’s at your local grocery store! Cookie Cat he’s a friend for your tummy!” never noticing Lars’ comments, Steven continued.  
“Cookie Cat, he’s super duper yummy,” Sadie quietly joined Steven’s singing, with Lars joining for the next verse, “Cookie cat, he left his family behind! Cookie cat!”  
The blonde behind the counter began clapping for their customer’s performance, “Great job as always, Steven.”  
“He does this every time he gets of these fu-” a mean look from Sadie was enough to change his choice of words, “Excellent products carried by our store.”  
“And speaking of excellent products, I’ll take two of those freshly, shipped Cookie Cats!” Steven laid down the cash on the counter.  
“Are you sure you don’t want any of those Lion Lickers?” Sadie asked, pointing to a cooler.  
“No one likes Lion Lickers! They don’t even look like lions!” Steven pointed to one licker where its eyes were where its mouth was.  
Peridot had taken one of the Cookie Cats and started munching into the ice cream sandwich, “I like it. It’s crunchy, but creamy on the inside.”  
“Aw yeah! Cookie Cat!” Steven celebrated his new friend enjoying his favorite snack.  
As Peridot ate the cat-themed ice cream sandwich, she started a conversation with her new-ish acquaintances, “So how’s Lapis? I haven’t heard from her in a few days.”  
“You have a phone right? Can’t you text her?” Lars answered her question with a question.  
“I do, but she hasn’t answered me. I wanted to hang out with her today but nothing,” she explained.  
Sadie was going to explain the situation but Lars asked one obvious question, “Ok before anything else. What the hell are you doing with Steven?”  
“That’s one for the swear jar!” Steven called out from across the store, “She was actually on her way to this Blue Girl’s dorm, and I met her on the bus. She told me she’s never had Cookie Cat so I got her to stop by here.”  
The three teens looked at Steven with a look of concern, “How do you get everywhere, Steven? Like it seems whenever you want to go somewhere, you take the bus,” Peridot asked.  
“There was one time I went to Omaha, Nebraska on a bus. My dad was, not happy about that. He banned TV for a thousand years,” Steven explained, “What were you saying about the Blue Girl?”  
“How do you know she has blue hair?” Peridot inquired.  
“I didn't. You said her name was Lapis, so since Lapis Lazuli is a blue gem, she’d be blue,”  
“He’s got a point,” Sadie admitted, “Um. You might want to check up on her. She’s been,” Sadie looked to Lars for the appropriate words.  
“She’s been hitting the bottle,” Lars remarked.  
“Wh-what?” she stammered, “I didn’t know that she drank.”  
“You might want to go see her. She kinda needs you right now,” Sadie advised Peridot.  
A lot of new information was being absorbed into Peridot. She never thought that Lapis would drink, but she racked her brain for times Lapis told her about getting a beer. And then she racked her brain for any reason why she would drink, as Lapis didn’t seem like the kind of girl to drink, especially one who’s on a swim team.  
She was brought out of her trance by Lars’ snapping fingers, “Welcome back to planet earth. Are you gonna get anything else or are you gonna go see Lapis?”  
Peridot turned to her host, “Steven, thanks for the Cookie Cat it was delicious!” she formally thanked him as she walked out the door.  
“Do you want to hang out again later?” Steven called out to her.  
“Sure!” she yelled back before the glass doors close on themselves.  
“Man, she is so cool!”  
Lars slumped over, “Go home, Steven.”

* * *

It took a few bus rides but Peridot made her way to the dorms of Lapis’ college. She wandered a bit, ignoring every side glance and stare that came her way or at her leg. She walked through one of the doors into a foyer with an office on the side where a woman was dutifully signing papers.  
“Are you a visitor or a new transfer?” Peridot ignored her as she focused on the elevator in front of her, “Ma’am. I need to see if you have a visitor badge.”  
Her shrill voice didn’t stop Peridot from pushing the elevator button and entering the lift, “Ok, Sadie said that she and Lapis live on the third floor, so I’ll hit this button. And the doors will close and-  
“YOU WILL DIE!” Peridot would swear to this day that she saw that woman wielding a shotgun and an odachi, coming at her.  
Peridot started smashing on the button in a vain attempt to make the elevator move faster.

* * *

The shutters were shut, but the beams of light that broke through its crack shined down on Lapis’ body, her sweat reflecting the light off of her. She had one arm covering her eyes and her other arm hanging off the side of the bed, with a hand wrapped around a bottle of stout. She had spent the last eight hours lying in bed, only getting up to grab another bottle from her fridge, and this was her third.  
Her arm pulled itself up, bringing the glass bottle up to her lips while she sipped the Irish concoction, “What am I doing?” she asked herself, “Just call her. She’ll answer,” she lifted herself up to reach the phone she had been sitting on for the whole day, “Son of a bitch. No power.”  
She heard a knock on the door and walked towards it, putting pants on as she went. She turned the doorknob and pulled the door back, “Hey, what do you-  
Peridot stood in front of her, looking up into her eyes, “Hi. I guess, uh. Good morning, or good afternoon,” she muttered.  
“H-hey. Um, what are you doing here?”  
“I. I heard you were feeling bad,”  
Lapis felt her heart drop like a rock, “You could say that,” she admitted.  
“What would you say, then?” she pushed the matter closer to her.  
Lapis let out a deep sigh and pulled the door farther out, “Make yourself comfortable. We’re gonna be here for a while.”  
Peridot’s eyes widened, “How long are we going to talk?”  
“Let’s just say, we’re gonna start at the beginning,” Lapis answered.

* * *

**Highschool Sophomore Year Second Semester**

* * *

Lapis looked around in the audience, her concern growing more and more, “Where is she?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am awake so I will now write my A/N
> 
> Interesting turn of events huh? Next chapter we'll all get some insight as to what happened three years ago. 
> 
> See you all sooner or later. Probably both


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again we're going to be jumping back and forth in the timeline, so I'm going to say when the timeshift happens once, and when it switches, I'll let you use context clues. Once again if it's too confusing, let me know and I'll change it.

**Not long after the turn of the millennium**

* * *

She watched the night sky slowly conquer the remains of the day, as the sun’s rays shined beyond the mountain before it was obscured entirely by the horizon. The Atlantic ocean turned from blue to black in the matter of minutes and it left her entirely entranced. She paid complete attention to this metamorphosis while trying to ignore the bickering of her parents.  
She heard too many things coming out of her parents that she should, nor should any child ever hear. Most of it blended together; her father would accuse her mother of not loving him anymore while she would yell at him for coming home with one of his female coworkers, and then it would spiral out of control from there.  
She would always come out here and watched the day pass. In a few hours, the yelling would be over and she could come back inside.  
“You can’t take her away from me!” she was reeled back into reality by her father’s words, “She is MY daughter!”  
“She has my name and she came from me! You can keep this house and everything in it, but she is mine,” her mother held her ground. She would hold on to Lapis close and would never let go. That’s how she was.  
She could hear her mother coming up the stairs, “Lapis. Pack your things with everything you can’t part with. We leave in an hour,” she poked her head through the door and darted back out as soon as her words left her throat. A few minutes later her mother left a suitcase outside of her door, “Chop chop, Lapis, you only have an hour.”  
As she started putting all of her precious belongings in the suitcase, she looked out to the shore of Beach City, knowing well she will never see her hometown again.

* * *

**Her last years in Fremont**

* * *

She felt a sharp sting sail across her cheek, whipping her head to the side. She brought her own hand to her face and rubbed herself to alleviate the pain. She looked at her offender, her eyes neither filled with remorse or hate.  
“Why the hell did you kiss him? What the hell is wrong with you?!” he ranted and raved at her, “You’re my girlfriend, I thought you loved me?!” it was somewhat ironic how no tears fell from her face, and yet his was an endless stream.  
She turned around and started walking home, giving him the last words she would say in that town, “When we kiss, I don’t feel anything.”

* * *

**Her first few weeks in Fremont**

* * *

She watched the sun fall into the ocean, memories pouring from when she was younger. She would watch the sun rise from the edge of the horizon as it shined into the mountains that stood proudly over Beach City. Here, her days would begin with the rays coming out from behind the mountains, and would end with the water shining into her eyes.  
“Lapis?” she heard her mother from afar, “It’s time to go! Dinner’s ready!”  
She walked from the beach to the house, not on the beach, but across the road from those houses.  
For hundreds of days, Lapis and her mother would sit alone and eat whatever takeout she could find or the occasional cooked dinner. Tonight was one of those occasions, but all it amounted to was Lapis staring into a bowl of baked noodles rather than a cardboard box of fried noodles.  
Her mother would ask about her day and she would give the most vanilla answers a young adult could give such as, “It’s fine. It was good. It was alright.” Their conversations would die after that.  
Lapis would retreat into her room where she would lock herself away until the next day arrived. This would repeat again and again. Nashville, Kansas City, Wichita, and Fremont. Everything was different, but everything was still the same.  
She would make friends, but she knew that they’d be gone at a moment’s notice. That’s how her life went, and that’s how it would be.

* * *

**High School Sophomore Year Second Semester**

* * *

She was in the locker room, changing from a swimsuit to more casual clothing, all with an extremely pissed off expression. Once she was done changing, she reached for her phone and dialed her best-friend/new girlfriend’s number. She was nearly tempted to throw her phone across the room when it went to voicemail, but instead let the automated message have it, “Hey asshole! You promised me that you’d be here for my Finals, and you were gonna be my ride! Where the hell are you?!”  
All Lapis could do was walk outside and sit on a lonely curb to text her mother and sulk in peace. While she texted a plea for a ride, her phone started vibrating and playing a song from an anime, with Peridot’s name in the caller ID.  
She answered just so she could go in on her, “Finally decided to answer me?! Why the hell are you-  
A clearly not Peridot voice interrupted her, “Uh, excuse me for asking but what is your relationship with Peridot Olivine, Miss Lazuli?”  
This was a curveball she wasn’t expecting but she answered anyway, “I’m her best friend. Also her girlfriend,” she murmured that last part out of the phone’s microphone, “Who is this?”  
“I’m with the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. We were attempting to contact her parents, but Miss Olivine is incapacitated and cannot tell us her parents’ phone number or the password to her phone,” he explained to her, though she could hear him tip toeing around a subject.  
“Wh-what? What’s wrong with Peridot?”  
“I can’t disclose much information to a non-family member, but she was picked up from a car crash and well, we’re prepping Miss Olivine for surgery. You happened to call just as we got her into the emergency room,” his voice was sympathetic, but he spoke very matter-of-factly.  
“What?” a thousand scenarios were playing in her head, trying to figure out what would have happened to her best friend that required a visit to the emergency room, “Is-is she ok?”  
She could hear the hesitation in his voice, “There isn’t much I can tell you unless you’re a member of the family,” Lapis’ could feel her own heart racing as thousands of images flowed through her head.  
“Can you please tell me what her parent’s numbers are?” the nurse asked again.  
Lapis responded with Mrs. Olivine’s number and promptly hung up. She clutched her chest as her breathing rapidly got faster and faster, “Peridot. What in god’s name happened to you?”

* * *

**College Freshman Year Second Semester**

* * *

One thing that both Lapis and Peridot had in common was that they lacked the talent to keep their rooms tidy as Lapis’ bedroom was a complete mess with bottles and cans strewn all about. Even the main room of Lapis and Sadie’s dorm was disorganized, but it was the only decent place for Peridot and Lapis to conversate.  
“So, what’s up? What did you need to talk about?” Lapis asked as she sat in a chair in front of the leather couch, “Need a drink? Or anything?”  
“No, um. Yeah, I could use some water,” Peridot replied while she took off her jacket, “It was a bad idea to wear this in Spring.”  
Lapis smiled while she walked to the mid-sized fridge, “I understand the pants but I don’t understand why you’d wear a jacket in this freaking weather,” Lapis popped open a cold one where she understood the reason why Peridot was wearing a jacket in this freaking weather, “Why are you wearing that shirt? I gave that to you as a joke.”  
Peridot’s face was red with embarrassment over the scantily clad, well endowed anime women on her shirt, “IT WAS MY ONLY CLEAN SHIRT! And besides, you’re not even wearing a shirt!” Peridot shouted.  
Lapis looked down at herself, “Well would you look at that. Thank god I’m wearing a bra,” she giggled while handing Peridot her water, “Sorry. I’m a little tipsy.”  
After Peridot gulped down half of the water bottle, she looked into Lapis’ eyes and started to speak, “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Lapis,” she blinked and took a deep breath, “I heard you’ve been drinking.”  
It wasn’t hard to see the color in Lapis’ body fade, “Yeah. I’ve been drinking a bit. Who told you?”  
Peridot ignored her question with a question, “Why? You’re not twenty-one yet! You know how much trouble you could be in if someone found out what you’ve been doing?!”  
Lapis looked out of the window to the bare, blue skies, “This isn’t a recent thing, you know,” she looked into Peridot’s eyes, “It’s been going on for a while.” 

* * *

For the past three days, total radio silence. Lapis checked her phone every hour on the hour to see if Peridot had even read her message. She couldn’t focus on anything the teachers said, she wouldn’t speak to anyone, and she didn’t eat that whole time. Her mind didn’t allow these pleasantries, as it only raced against itself wondering what in the lord’s name happened to Peridot. She desperately tried to reel it in from going to the worst, but she inevitably had horrific images sneak inside.  
She didn’t know what would be worse, finally seeing what afflicted Peridot, or suffering from the constant visions. She didn’t dwell on that thought for long.  
Every day she sent the same message, “Peridot! What happened?! Are you ok?” at seven in the evening, and until the time came she would check to see the status of her girlfriend. For seventy-two hours, the results were always the same.  
Alone in her own home, while her mother was away, she was restless. She couldn’t think of anything else but to worry for Peridot. She couldn’t stand it anymore and needed something to take her mind off of things.  
Lapis was never unfamiliar with alcohol. Her mother would occasionally drink after a long day of work or when the memories of her husband returned. There was always a case of liquor and a bottle of vodka in the fridge, and Lapis was always told to never touch. But regardless, these thoughts needed to end, and hey, coconut vodka wouldn’t taste that bad, right?

* * *

“That long?” Peridot stammered, “You’ve been drinking that long?”  
There was no sense in any other answer besides a simple head nod, “It isn’t perfect but it’s the best way to sort my head. Happens every once in awhile, my head just goes somewhere that,” she paused to look back at Peridot, “I don’t like.”  
By now, Peridot wanted to know what was going on with her, and she was getting an idea, “It’s me, isn’t it? It’s me! I’m making you feel like shit!” her voice was cracking up as her pants began getting covered in her tears.  
A pair of tan arms pulled her body towards Lapis, and embraced her, “No. That’s not true. You don’t make me feel me like this-  
She suddenly felt Peridot push her away, “YOU’RE LYING! I CAN SEE IT ON YOUR FACE!” an endless stream of tears was now pouring from her eyes, “You won’t even look at me in the eye when you’re talking to me. How the hell do you expect me to believe you?!”  
Lapis wiped a few stray strands of her hair out of her eyes, and looked deep into Peridot’s eyes, “What makes me feel like this, is what we are.”

* * *

One week had passed. One very long week, and finally, Lapis received a message from whom she’d been waiting for what felt like centuries. She was in science class, and upon feeling that titilizing sensation of a vibration, she pulled out her phone and glued thousands of pixels to her eyes.  
“Feeling better. I lost a little bit of myself, lol,” were the only words Peridot Olivine responded with.  
And though these words washed away all of the grim thoughts, a tide of worry came flowing through and her fingers soon went to work, “What happened? Are you ok? And what the hell do you mean by losing yourself?” she quietly mouthed these words as she texted them to her friend.  
The five minutes were an even more hellish wait than the one-hundred-twenty-seven hours, but when she finally got an answer from Peridot, it wasn’t one she wanted, “I don’t have the words,” was the first message received, “I’d like to see you,” a comforting second message arrived, “I don’t want you to see me,” a haunting third message swung by, “...come. I’ve been feeling lonely,” and a final comforting message left Lapis with the hope that Peridot was ok.  
She was preparing herself for the worst.  
As she always did.

* * *

“What do you mean by that? What we are?” Peridot questioned her.  
Lapis wanted to look away from Peridot to give herself an easier time at explaining, but she faced he and kept her eyes focused on Peridot’s face, “What we are, makes me feel,” she paused, looking for the right words, “Empty.”  
As that word settled into Peridot, regret settled into Lapis, “I make you feel empty?” she wiped away her own tears and looked deeper into Lapis, “Just tell me! Tell me what’s wrong!”  
“YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S WRONG!?” Lapis started yelling.  
“YES! JUST FUCKING TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG?!” Peridot yelled back.  
“I DON’T THINK YOU LOVE ME ANYMORE!”  
For a few moments, the silence deafened their ears, “What? What did you say?”  
Lapis fought back against her own tears, “We’ve been dating for years. We’ve been together for so long we should have been married. I wanted to be with you ever since we slept together for the first time! You made me so happy when you sang on stage,” now the tears wouldn’t stop, “What happened to you?”  
While Lapis cried into her lap, Peridot stood from the couch and looked down at her, “You want to know what happened?” she started pulling up the leg of her pants, showing off her metal prosthetic, “When this happened, just before the crash, I was ready to die.”

* * *

Lapis had taken the bus for the first time, and made it to the hospital Peridot was staying. She was attempting to piece together what she knew about the situation with Peridot and the very little medical information she was aware of to figure out what had happened to her. She was rapidly tapping her foot and gnawing on her fingernails impatiently for the bus to make it to the hospital.  
After an exit off the highway, the bus stopped a little ways from the hospital. Lapis bolted out of the bus and sprinted to the hospital entrance. She walked through the automatic doors and up to the receptionist, “Hi. I’m here to visit Peridot Olivine. What room is she staying in?”  
If there is one thing that baffles both the writer and Lapis Lazuli, it is how lax security in hospitals are. No one will ever stop you from visiting a patient unless you look like a psychopath or if the patient is in an operation.  
“She’s in room 219. Are you family or friends?” the receptionist asked in a bored manner.  
“Friends, girlfriends, whatever, thanks!” Lapis walked towards the nearest elevator and got in as soon as the door was wide enough to let her through. She hit the second floor button with enough force to crack it, and the wait continued as the elevator rose.  
Her heart was racing, she needed to see Peridot. No matter what, she would be reunited with her love.  
The elevator opened and Lapis power walked down the hall with her eyes looking for “219.” She got a little turned around before she finally came across the room. The door was closed and the window only showed a TV and a bed with a foot standing erect and covered by pillows.  
Lapis Lazuli opened the door and walked forward with her eyes closed, where she heard the sounds of an Italian plumber jumping. She opened her eyes and saw her, in a patient’s gown, a bit thinner than the last time they met, and playing a game on her DS.  
Peridot soon realized she wasn’t alone, and instantly life returned to her, “Hey. I missed you.”  
And with four words, Peridot was able to get Lapis to open up the floodgates, as she stepped up to her injured friend. She had no words and could only bury her face into Peridot’s shoulder, soaking it in tears.  
“I missed you too.”

* * *

“What? What did you just say?” Lapis’ voice was now just a whisper.  
Peridot trembled before she could begin speaking, “When, I saw it coming, there wasn’t anything I could do. All I could do was watch,” Peridot explained, her voice even more quiet than before, “I was ready. I was ready to die, and I only prayed that you would have a happy life,” she could feel every inch on what remained of her left leg, “When I blacked out, I was sure I was dead. But, I woke up. I woke up with tubes sticking out of me. They had to cut my leg off, but,” Peridot paused as her fists clenched, “I could still feel it. I could feel something that wasn’t there! I felt all of the pain from the surgery. From that crash. I felt all of it,” her body was shuddering, “And I can still feel it sometimes.”  
Peridot stared down at Lapis, “But when you came, it stopped. I saw you and,” a smile appeared on her face as those memories flashed in her mind, “I didn’t the feel that pain anymore.”  
“Peridot-  
“So tell me. Where the hell do you get that idea from? That I don’t love you anymore?! Because I haven’t stopped!”

* * *

For the past hour, Lapis had her head leaning against Peridot’s shoulder while she played a Mario RPG. Peridot wasn’t in a very talkative mood but she would occasionally pause to explain what was going on in the story. It was a little too weird for Lapis to comprehend but she still watched. It meant the whole world just to be this close with her again.  
Every now and then she would push herself closer to Peridot and kiss her on the cheek. Peridot would blush, but she would also turn to Lapis for a brief moment as if to say, “Hey you, quit being sweet.”  
But after a while, and simultaneously, Peridot and Lapis’ stomachs growled like hungry bears after hibernation, “You want to score some food at the cafeteria?” Peridot asked.  
“You think they’d let me eat here?” Lapis asked while her stomach growled again, “Screw it, I’m eating whether they like it or not!” she declared and started towards the door when she didn’t hear Peridot coming, “Hey, I thought you wanted food?”  
“Yeah! But. I kinda need some help getting into this thing,” her voice lowered while pointing to a wheelchair next to her bed.  
Lapis had one hand on her hip while she walked to the piece of medical equipment, “Doc still says you need to use this thing?” Lapis pulled it by Peridot’s side, “You look fine enough to walk-  
What Peridot had feared happened. She watched Lapis’ smile turn into a face of shocked terror. And with it the pain returned.  
Lapis couldn’t say anything. All she could do was stare at what remained of Peridot, “Wh-what happened?” she approached the bed, and slumped on her knees while her eyes were focused on her wound.  
Peridot covered her own eyes to stop the crying, “Please don’t look at me. Don’t look at that.”

* * *

“Just tell me. Tell me why,” Peridot begged for Lapis to speak to her.  
Lapis wanted to jump out of the window than tell her what she really felt like, but she needed to tell her, or she would bottle up everything inside, “When you shut down, we barely saw each other. But I still loved you. I waited for you to get better,” she brushed her arm across her eyes, “But I kept waiting. And waiting, and waiting. For two years you holed up in your room and you didn’t talk to anyone, except me,” she explained he feelings, “I’m so happy, that, I made you feel alive but. Oh god, I hate myself for feeling this now that you’ve told me what happened with you-  
Now Lapis felt Peridot’s hands on her shoulders. She looked up to Peridot’s comforting face, “It’s ok.”  
A few moments of regaining her composure allowed Lapis to return to speaking, “I wanted more. I wanted to move forward with what we are. I wanted to go to prom with you, to sit at lunch and hold your hand, I wanted to annoy the teachers when we kissed in the halls!  
“When they asked me about my girlfriend, you don’t know how awful it felt to tell them I didn’t have one, just because I didn’t have the guts to tell them about you. I wanted to be with you so much,” her words ached her own throat when they were spoken, “I’m sorry. I kept reminding myself what you were going through, but I wanted more from you each time we saw each other. I’m sorry. I’m so, sorry!” Peridot held her tight, letting her cry in her shoulder, “I’m so selfish.”  
Peridot shook her head, “It’s alright. I’m selfish too.”  
Though these past few moments were quite grim, Peridot’s line got a small laugh out of Lapis, “Yeah. We’re selfish people.”  
And with that, the two breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back into the couch, “So. What now?” Peridot asked.  
“Maybe we need a break from each other,” Lapis suggested, “I know that sounds weird considering we only see each other once a week.”  
“No. I think that’s a good idea. I think we should give each other a month. I need to sort things out with this thing once and for all, and-  
“I need to stop drinking, I know.”  
“I mean you can drink, as long as you’re not putting others at risk. Wow I sounded like a parent,” an idea sprang to her head, “We should plan something for the summer!”  
“Excuse me?”  
“Listen. We can do this. We’ll have the most fun we could ever have! You just have to figure out what we’re gonna do then, and I’ll figure this thing out!” she explained her randomly thought up plan, “I’ll make things up to you and to me,” she came up to Lapis and kissed her on the cheek, “Thank you for always being there for me,” she kissed her other cheek, “Thank you for being honest with me,” and one final kiss on Lapis’ nose, “And that’s just the start of making up for you,” she got up and walked up to the dorm’s door but spoke to Lapis one last time, “I’m going to do everything I can to make myself a better person for you.”  
Lapis’ fire was finally lit again, “Well good. Because I’ll be an even better person for you. I’ll be better for you than you are for me!”  
“OH YEAH! YOU WANT TO MAKE THIS COMPETITION!” Peridot challenged her, before the two girls shared a laugh, “But one month from now. I’ll see you again.”

* * *

Peridot felt herself in the embrace of Lapis Lazuli, “Don’t be ashamed of yourself. You’re not ugly, and you’re not a freak,” she whispered, “You’re still you. And I still love you,” she smiled at her girlfriend, “Now c’mon! I’m starving!”  
Peridot smiled with her, “You just gotta help me in this freaking chair!”

* * *

**Around the same time in the San Antonio Air Port**

* * *

A statuesque woman with dark skin stepped out of her private plane, greeted by an agent of her record company, “Miss Govender, it is a pleasure you to welcome you back to the City of San Antonio.”  
The woman adjusted her large, dark shades while she observed the city skyline, “Please. The pleasure is all mine,” she moved her shades down to look at him with her red and blue eyes, “And please. Miss Govender is my initiate mother. Call me Garnet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll keep this short since I'm really tired. 
> 
> I hope you really enjoyed this. I don't claim to be the best writer, but I tried as best as I could to try and make dialogue feel as natural and as organic as possible. But I do hope you liked this chapter. It is a sixth of this whole story. 
> 
> We finally have insight on these two characters but I would still like to see you guys fill in the blanks on other details. I try to leave things vague about certain aspects of the characters.
> 
> And OH MY GOSH! GARNET! Initiate mother?! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?! If initiate mother is not a real term, it basically means the mother that didn't birth you. At least that's what i gathered from Mad Max Fury Road.
> 
> But yes Garnet is in this story, and we might be seeing a bit from Ruby and Sapphire ;)
> 
> I'm going to be taking a small break from this story. School projects and I want to finish a few reviews. My review of Retro City Rampage is well overdue, and I need to work on it. 
> 
> Also a lot of the chapters are going to feel like one shots with different Steven Universe characters, while Peridot and Lapis still receive character development. 
> 
> Also, do me a favor and when you finish a chapter, go to YouTube and listen to the Real Folk Blues. Let me know if that makes the chapter feel any different or adds anything. Idk.
> 
> I didn't keep this short. bye i'm tired. I'll fix any errors when I'm awake.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is going to have some a lot of references to the Gulf War and there is a drill sergeant who invokes the trope of what drill sergeants do. There isn't racial slurs, but let's just say I watched Full Metal Jacket as inspiration to write out some of the military elements. There is a use of the word "midget" in this, so if you are squeamish to that word, you might want to brace yourself or skip the military stuff.

**Kuwait - 1990**

* * *

The hot wind was blowing, jagged lines across the sand. Just like the buffalo, she was following the herd. She stood with her rifle tucked in both arms across her body, with her eyes set on the horizon while her buddies hung around, passing a beer around.  
It was her dream to be on the battlefield. Her father in Vietnam, and his father in the Second World War before him and so on had lived and breathed fighting, and they were truly alive on the battlefield. Though they had no way to prove it, her family believed that their ancestors were Africa’s greatest warriors.  
And now it was her time to hold the torch. She was in the middle of the desert, and if she did not go out in a blazing glory, she would return a hero. That was her mission. She would fight for justice, in a forgotten place. She would fulfill her duty and vanish without a trace.  
This was a soldier’s duty, and in that sense, her duty.

* * *

**College Freshman Year Second Semester**

* * *

It was a new day, and Peridot was going to change everything about herself. She had promised Lapis and she wasn’t going to break it, and so she decided to start with her own room. She stood and looked at the piles of trash and clothes before her.  
“No!” Peridot declared and walked out of her own room before an unknown, almost eldritch force pulled her back to set her on the path of righteousness, or at least made her clean her room. It took a long time, and it was amazing how much trash Peridot had produced in the matter of mere weeks. Granted, rooms get progressively messy as times go on, a part of life that mothers lack the capability to understand, but this was appaling as well as impressive. Even so, Peridot was determined to fight her way and get her room clean.  
And it took some time but she did it. She was able to successfully throw away all of her trash, put every article of clothing in the laundry, and finally organize and dust her game collection. Three hours of work was able to produce a room that looked like a decent person was living there and not a gremlin. Not that Peridot would call herself a gremlin, but, I’ll let you decide if she is or isn’t. Regardless, Peridot felt pretty proud about herself, feeling like she had earned herself a day of gaming.  
“Peridot!” her mother called out to her, “Dr. Maheswaran called, he wants to meet with you today!”  
She poked her head out of her room, “It hasn’t been a month yet, though!” she called back.  
“He said he wanted to speak with you! Said the session is free if you see him today!” she explained, “Be ready in an hour before I drop you off!”  
Peridot shut the door and lamented to herself, “Well, at least I can talk to him about what’s been happening,” she sighed, “You know what!? This will be fine!”

* * *

A smartly-dressed woman heard the tappings of fingers on a marble counter, with one tap sounding organic while the others sounding like the taps of plastic, “Have patience, dear. I will be ready in a few minutes.”  
“I don’t see why I have to see him! Our only daughter is finally home and she has to deal with my stupid visit to the therapist!” she grunted from across their home.  
“It’s only for an hour dear, you can handle speaking to him,” the woman hung blue-jeweled earrings from her lobes.  
“Are you saying I can’t handle some crackpot who gets paid to talk to people?! I stormed Saddam Hussein’s palace! I can handle anything!”  
She sighed to herself, “And here we go,” she looked at herself to briefly admire her business casual outfit, “I’m ready if you are!”  
She walked into the foyer of their house to join with her wife, wearing a suit she was clearly uncomfortable to wear and a red bandana across her forehead and around her curly, black hair, “You look nice, Sapphire,” she smiled at her.  
“And you look nice as well, Ruby,” Sapphire complemented her back, “You’re still going to wear the bandana?”  
The two of them held hands as they walked out of their own house. To them, the house was normal, but to anyone else it seemed like they had come across a scale model of a house. The two build the house with their own money, and have proudly lived inside ever since 1999, a year after their daughter left home.  
Ruby and Sapphire stepped into a chauffeur’s car that had been working for Sapphire for years, even before she moved to America. He knew the routine, open the door for Sapphire and let Ruby close the door, otherwise she’d complain for half the journey.  
“Where to, Miss Govender?” he asked as he put on the hat all chauffeurs must wear.  
“To Dr. Maheswaran’s office. Ruby has an appointment scheduled. After which we will rendezvous with our daughter. We will most likely be taking her limo to lunch, so it won’t be necessary to stay,” Sapphire listed off her instructions while he drove off.  
As the drive went on, Sapphire noticed Ruby’s foul mood, “Is something bothering you?”  
“No, nothing at all,” Ruby muttered, her thoughts wandering back to a time where things made sense.

* * *

**Basic Training - Shortly Before the Gulf War**

* * *

Ruby stood in the Texas heat with dozens of other men. She was in formation with thre rest of the privates, standing stiff with her gut sucked in and her chest stuck out, while the drill sergeant stepped up to every recruit and barked horrible things in their face to get their reactions. If they responded with anything other than, “SIR, YES SIR!” he would have them do twenty push-ups. If they dared to laugh at his outlandish insults, they had to fifty push-ups, if he was feeling nice.  
“Well what do we have here. What’s going on, missy, did you miss the auditions for Wizard of Oz?!” she had heard this all her life, the same jokes, the same comments, all of it. This wasn’t new, but it still rocked her to the core.  
“SIR, NO SIR!” she practically screamed at him.  
“Then what are you doing here, little miss?! You’re far away from the elementary school, you know that?!” he was digging under every nerve just to get her to snap.  
“SIR, I AM HERE TO FIGHT FOR MY COUNTRY, SIR!”  
“Your country?! Well this ain’t gonna be a Martin Luther King Hair Braiding Hang Out! Do you understand that, or do you think the world owes you a rifle?!” he was ignoring every other private just to see how far she could go, “What’s the matter?! Cat got your tongue?! Do you want to punch me, Private?”  
“SIR, I WISH TO BEAT YOU TO DEATH, SIR!” every private in that formation was outright appalled by this proclamation, and none of them were sure if she was serious or not.  
“Oh do you?” he finally spoke in a civilized voice, “Well let me tell you. When you join the military the chance of you dying is increased ten times. And when a midget like you joins your chance of dying increases by thirty times. So let me ask you again, do you still want to go out and fight for your country?”  
She stared straight ahead into his eyes and roared, “SIR, YES SIR!” and everyone at the base could hear her.  
“Then it’s a pleasure having you aboard,” he whispered before returning to antagonizing the rest of the recruits.

* * *

Peridot walked up the steps to Maheswaran’s office, taking one step on her right before bringing her left up, “Freaking stairs. The enemy of all amputees!” she complained, before setting her eyes on a very, very tall woman with an equally tall afro fit for her and a pair of dark shades covering her eyes, “Uh, h-hello.”  
“Hello to you as well,” her voice was difficult to describe by Peridot, but she knew three things she could say: it was British, it was incredibly sexy, and it was also too much for her to handle or respond.  
“I, uh. You come around here often, ma’am?” Peridot tried to avoid ogling her by staring down at the pavement.  
“You know my eyes are up here, miss,” Peridot froze up hearing that voice so close, “I’m used to people looking low, but not at the ground. I think you’re a first.”  
Peridot looked up and basked in the glory of the lady in front of her, before meeting with her eyes. She had lifted up her glasses to get a better look at Peridot, letting her see her blue and red eyes.  
When the tall woman winked at Peridot with said red eye, it caused her to faint.  
For a few minutes, Peridot was completely out of it until she felt a hand repeatedly shaking her, “C’mon, kid,” a voice was pulling her out of the darkness, “I have an appointment to get to,” Peridot finally woke up and saw a woman with curly hair and a red bandana across her forehead.  
Peridot initially thought the woman was kneeling down to talk to her but when Peridot lifted herself up and found herself at eye level with her, she said the words that most people would regret, “Are you the tall lady’s daughter?”  
Sapphire saw it coming, and so did Garnet, and all they could do was watch, “You think,” the woman clenched her fists, “That I’m. Her daughter?” she stared down Peridot with a psychotic smile, ending her question with a pop in her neck.  
Peridot was afraid of any answer she could give would offend the woman, so she stayed silent.  
“Are you fucking deaf?!” she had her hands on Peridot’s shirt and pulled her up to her eyes, “Do you have any fucking idea who you’re fucking with?! I’ve seen more shit in a day than you will in your entire fucking life! I fought in two wars and I only lost three fingers!” Peridot didn’t know or wanted to know which fingers was it, “I have fought for my country and I don’t need some punk talking down to me and-  
“Let her go, Ruby!” the woman in blue and the taller woman pulled her off of Peridot, “Please, let’s sit and calm down for a while before we go inside,” she urged Ruby.  
Ruby looked down at Peridot, still lying on the concrete and scared, “Fine,” she grumbled while walking away with who Peridot assumed was her wife.  
As the couple walked away, the taller woman sat down next to Peridot, “To answer your question from earlier, no. That was my mother,” Garnet sighed, looking downhill to see her mother trying to calm down Ruby.  
“Oh, and the other woman is-  
“Also my mother,” Garnet explained, “Please forgive Ruby. She’s got what you call a hair trigger temper when it comes to,” Garnet moved to Peridot’s ear, “Well everything.”  
From down the stairs, Ruby called out, “I HEARD THAT, YOUNG LADY!”  
Garnet shook her head, “Sorry about all of this.”  
“It’s fine, it’s not the weirdest thing that’s happened to me,” Peridot explained, “But your voice sounds familiar. Have we met before?”  
“I hear that a lot, but I don’t think we’ve met,” Garnet winked at her, “Perhaps you’ve heard of me? My name is Garnet Govender.”  
Peridot narrowed her eyes while her mind processed Garnet’s name, “Garnet Govender. Where have I heard that before? I wouldn’t know anyone with a South African last name, and though half the people I’ve met lately are named after rocks, I wouldn’t know anyone named Garnet. Unless this Garnet is someone I should know of rather than know personally, then that would mean this Garnet expects me to know of her, either because she’s extremely arrogant or it’s just an expectation, which would mean that the woman I’m sitting next to is someone of notoriety.”  
Garnet watched Peridot mutter to herself, unsure how to react, “Do you need a hint?”  
Her words were falling on deaf ears as Peridot was piecing together a puzzle leading her to figure out, “You’re that singer Garnet! I know you now! I hear some of your songs on the radio!”  
Garnet laughed a little bit, “Thank you. I’m always happy to meet someone who’s heard me sing,” she admitted, “Though this is certainly the oddest meeting I’ve had.”  
“I’d say same here but I haven’t met anyone who was a fan of me,” Peridot cracked a joke that got a little laugh out of Garnet.  
Garnet got up and offered her hand to Peridot, “You should get going before my mom comes back. Maybe I’ll see you around,” she winked one last time at Peridot.  
Peridot walked up the steps rather stiffly into the office building, turning to face Garnet to blurt out, “I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!” and then she retreated.  
Garnet looked at where Peridot was and shrugged, letting her sun shades fall back down.  
Peridot walked towards the lone elevator in the building. Peridot hated walking up stairs as it would always make her leg ache after just one flight, but she hated it the dirty looks older folks gave her. She never felt like showing off her prosthetic, so eventually she gave up on what other people thought. And holing up in her room was another ways she achieved that goal.  
She pressed the button and waited for the metal-moving room to come back down to earth when she started hearing people running down the stairs.  
“Steven, why are we running down the stairs?” an unfamiliar voice called out a familiar name.  
“Because the elevator’s coming down, Connie!” yep, it was Steven, apparently dragging one of his friends for a hair-brained scheme.  
Peridot rolled her eyes and stepped into the elevator, when Steven and a young girl raced inside when the doors were closing.  
“Steven, why did we run into the elevator?” the girl asked.  
“So we could get back to the top floor,” Steven explained.  
“But we were on the second floor, we could have just gone up the stairs,”  
“Connie. They’re stairs. Stairs are evil!”  
“Normally I wouldn’t agree, but he has a point. Stairs are the root of all evil,” Peridot interjected.  
Steven had stars in his eyes, getting to see his new friend again, “Peridot! It’s so good to see you again! See, Connie? This is who I was talking about!”  
Peridot laid her eyes on a tan-skinned young girl with long dark hair and a pair of oval glasses, not unlike the pair Peridot wore, “It’s nice to met you! Steven’s told me a lot about you,” she offered her hand to her, “My name is Connie Maheswaran.”  
Peridot looked down at the young girl’s hand and nodded, “Peridot Olivine. Are you related to Doug Maheswaran?”  
“Yes! He’s my father! Are you one of his patients?”  
“Yeah,” as with most people, Peridot could be a cold, closed-off person at first glance, but in this instance she was attempting to be, slightly courteous.  
“Peridot is always quiet around new people,” Steven explained to Connie, “I forgot to ask, how did your talk go with your friend?”  
The older girl answered, “Better than I thought it would!” and to Connie it seemed as though a dying woman had springed back to life.  
“Or maybe someone who’s been dead has come back to life,” Connie thought to herself and only to herself.  
The elevator doors opened as Steven and Peridot talked about Lapis Lazuli. For a brief moment, Peridot thought her life had returned to normal, only for a familiar voice to shatter that illusion.  
“Well, well, well! Look what we have here!” Peridot turned from Steven and Connie to see Ruby, her arms crossed and her face in a scowl, glaring down Peridot, “You think you’re so above stairs!”  
“Ruby, please don’t,” Sapphire asked of her wife, “Just let it go and speak with Dr. Maheswaran.”  
“I’m more than twice your age and I still climb the stairs! I fought in more wars than you’ve lived through! What’s your excuse, punk?!” she practically yelled at Peridot.  
Before, with her hands being close to her neck, Peridot was too scared to say anything, but now with a considerable distance between them, and an open elevator, she wasn’t afraid to bark back, “What’s your problem with me?! I don’t like using the stairs, who the hell cares?!”  
From behind Ruby, both Garnet and Sapphire were shaking their heads ‘no’ to get Peridot to stop, “What’s my problem?” she clenched her left fist.

* * *

**Iraq - 1991**

* * *

As the sun went down, slowly changing the deserts bright colors into a subdued bluish-gray ocean, a group of soldiers hid behind a short wall as a tank patrolled their perimeter.  
Ruby held her rifle close as she felt the vibrations of the tank, not taking a breath until the tank had passed, “This is Charlie Squad! Requesting air support. I repeat, requesting air support, we have a tank pinning us and we cannot proceed until that thing goes down.”  
As the wind howled the noise of a diesel engine, Ruby overheard what support had to say, “That’s a negative Charlie Squad. We fly any jets over your position or they’ll get shot down,” the respondent stated, “You’re on your own, Charlie Squad.”  
Ruby peaked out of cover and saw the tank swinging by once more. She reached for a grenade and got into a running start position, “Cover me.”

* * *

“I’ve seen everything this world has to offer. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the worse,” she held up her left hand, and pulled off her pinky, ring, and middle fingers, “And I’ve lost a bit of myself. I fought for my country, I lived on the battlefield,” she explained while reattaching the prosthetics to her hand, “So when I see a little shit like you, thinking you’re better than me when you don’t know what I’ve been through, I get a little irritated.”  
“I don’t think I’m better than you,” Peridot spoke, “I’ve never thought I was better than anyone. I’m sorry I insulted you, but you don't have the right to say I don’t what it’s like! I know what you feel like, to lose parts of yourself,” Peridot looked Ruby directly in the eye, “It makes you feel like you’re less of a person.”  
“What the hell are you talking?”  
Peridot reached down to her pants and pulled the left leg up to show the prosthetic holding her up, “I’ve lost a part of myself. I let this thing control me, and make me who I was for three years.”  
When Ruby laid her eyes on Peridot’s prosthetic leg, all of the anger was washed away with remorse and shame, “Where’d you lose it? Was it in a war?” she whispered.  
“No. I lost it in a car accident,” Peridot, spoke very clearly, with no hesitation in her voice.  
Garnet whispered to her mother and asked, “Is mother backing down?”  
To which Sapphire replied with, “I-I don’t know?”  
Ruby took a deep breath and walked up to Peridot, “I’m sorry. I can be a hardass sometimes, or what the doctor likes to call ‘unadjusted.’ Look, let’s shake, and let bygones be bygones,” she offered her hand to the blonde.  
Peridot reached for Ruby’s hand and shook it, though she wasn’t expecting for her hand to be crushed by Ruby’s, “Let me tell ya. I signed up for the army so I could make this country safe for people like you,” Ruby started going on about while Peridot’s hand suffered, “That and I wanted to be like my dad and grandpa, but whenever I see someone who’s suffered, even more than I have, I can’t help but offer my deepest sympathy and respect,” she pulled Peridot down to where they were at eye level, “Let me tell you, pity is a load of crap. I’ve never pitied a single person in my life, and I don’t plan to. So as long as you don’t pity me, I won’t pity you.”  
Peridot absorbed Ruby’s words and nodded, “Yeah, fuck pity. I’ve never needed it.”  
Ruby had the biggest and widest smile on her face, “That’s what I like to hear,” she stepped away from Peridot to walk into Dr. Maheswaran’s waiting room, before turning to Peridot one last time, “Hey when this whole world goes to hell, you and I will be back to back, taking on anyone who gets in our way!”  
“Uh, sure. I guess?” Peridot replied.  
Ruby laughed as she closed the door behind her, leaving Peridot in the middle of the hall, with Garnet and Sapphire surprised out of their minds.  
“I don’t believe it. She actually got mom to back down,” Garnet said in awe.  
“And she actually earned her respect,” Sapphire gazed at Peridot in wonderment, “For the first time since I met her, Ruby gave someone her respect,” Sapphire walked up to Peridot and nodded to her, “I don’t know who you are, but please consider yourself blessed.”  
“I, uh, sure will!” Peridot, after two of the strangest encounters she had with anyone, she didn’t know how to respond to anything, “I’m gonna go and wait for my turn with Maheswaran.”  
“I’ll see ya later, Peridot!” Steven, yeah remember him, called out as he and Connie walked down the stairs.  
“See ya, Steven Universe!” Peridot called back as she walked into the waiting room, a little thankful that Ruby was already speaking with Maheswaran.  
But as Steven and Connie walked down the stairs, Garnet turned and watched them walk down the steps, muttering to herself, “Universe?”

* * *

A middle-aged major walked through the ranks of his privates under the hot Texas heat, “I want you all to know! That I have a standard for this company! During my vacation in Kuwait, I had a little lady in my squad. And she had more guts than all of you combined!” he yelled at eighty-four grown men and women, “While I was stuck in a corner, desperately calling for help, like a child calling for its mommy, she went out and took on a tank on her own!”  
He reminisced how he and the rest of his squad had to suddenly cover a little woman as she ran up to a tank, dodging gunfire.  
“She was able to get to the tank’s gun, and she threw a grenade inside! BOOM!” he could still feel the explosion and the ringing in his ear never went away, “And guess what! She was half your size! So if a little lady can take on a tank on her own, I expect all of you to do the same!”  
“SIR, YES SIR!”

* * *

Ruby sat in the leather couch of Dr. Maheswaran’s office, her eyes looking forward as the good doctor was finishing up the notes from their session, “You know, doc. My daughter Garnet is in town visiting.”  
“Oh? That’s good to hear! What’s the occasion?” he asked as he jotted down the last of the notes.  
“Believe it or not, she’s wanting to ask me about this man I met a long time ago,” Ruby grinned, “I knew him for two weeks around Delaware. When I first met him, I thought he was some bum with a guitar. Turns out he was pretty good at picking those strings, and we shared a few drinks before I was transferred to Kuwait. Haven’t seen him in a long time, so I’m not sure why my daughter thinks I’ll know where he is,”  
“Who is this mystery man?”  
“Greg Universe,” Ruby started laughing, “When he told me his name I thought he was joking, and then it turns out he changed his name to that! Who’d be dumb enough to call yourself that?!  
“But Garnet is looking for him. Not sure why, might have something to do with music,” she explained, “Anyway, is our time done?”  
Dr. Maheswaran looked at his watch and nodded, “I look forward to our next talk, Miss Govender.”  
Ruby walked out of the office saying, “I’m sure you do, doc. I’m sure you do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think this chapter is the best it could have been, but I did try to make it as best as it could be. I'm a little worried about some of the reactions, but this is my first attempt at writing about military. I do apologize if some of this is a bit much or too vulgar, but I attempted to capture what a late-eighties early-nineties drill sergeant would have been like with some elements of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. I do plan on writing a Voltron fic set in the Vietnam War, so this was a bit of practice for when I eventually write it.  
> If there needs to be more clarity about shifts in scenery and time, let me know in the comment section.  
> Anyway! How did y'all enjoy the inclusion of Ruby and Sapphire. Maybe this is refreshing having Ruby as a character independent of Sapphire and Garnet? Garnet is gonna play a role later in this story with Greg Universe, just sit tight and it'll be there!  
> Anyways, I'll see you all next time!


	16. Chapter 16

**College Freshman Year Second Semester**

* * *

She was jotting down notes in her spiral while she along with the rest of her class were waiting for the teacher to show up, “Beach. That keeps popping in my head.”  
“What are you writing for?” Sadie peeked at the notebook.  
“I’m trying to come up with ideas for what me and Peridot are gonna do at the end of this semester,” Lapis replied.  
“I thought you guys agreed on the end of a month?”  
“We changed our minds,” Lapis answered, “We figured we would have an easier time after school than during.”  
Sadie nodded, “Have you heard much from her since you two talked?”  
“Not really? I can’t say if that’s a good or bad thing,” she admitted, “I just have to trust that she’s doing what she said she’d do.”  
For the past twenty minutes, Lapis, Sadie, and the other twenty-three students have been waiting for their teacher to show up. A teacher being late wasn’t out of the ordinary, it happens from time to time, and if the students are lucky, then they get a class off.  
However most teachers make an attempt to show up to the first day of class, especially during a flex course. They couldn’t just leave either, they needed that syllabus, and in a flex course, every day was valuable. One lecture could prove the difference between failure or success.  
“WHERE’S THE DAMN TEACHER!” a disgruntled classmate summed up everyone's feelings.  
But after another agonizing age of almost alliterative waiting, the teacher for their course finally arrived. She was a short woman around 5’2, looked more like a student with her casual yet stylish clothes, and had a long mane of white hair. She walked into class with a bag tossed over her shoulder, chewing and blowing bubble gum, approached the teacher’s desk and practically threw herself into the chair, where she groaned into the cushioned leather, “First lesson, grasshoppers. Don’t binge a show the night before first day of class.”  
Lapis and Sadie looked to each other guiltily as they had binged Manyuu Hikenchou together the night before, cringing and laughing at the whole thing. Don’t google that if you’re in a public place.  
The woman stepped out of her chair and grabbed a dry-erase marker, “So what’s up? Welcome to Advanced Algebra. I’m gonna be your teacher,” she explained while writing her name down, “My name is Diana Amethyst and yes I know, could I have gotten a whiter name?! Anyways, you can call me Dr. Amethyst, Dr. Diana, or just Amethyst, I really could care less. But don’t call me Miss, or we’re gonna have a problem. If I hear any of you call me Miss Amethyst, I’m gonna drop you one letter grade!” Amethyst saw all the students were giving her complete attention, “Alright. I hope you brought notebooks because we’re hitting the ground running!”  
The next hour and a half was dedicated to some of the most complex math equations Sadie and Lapis had ever been exposed to, and yet the woman’s words were able to eloquently explain the material to the class, “So if AX squared plus BY to the power of 12 equals, ah shit! Sorry, guys. Looks like our time together has been cut short,” she concluded her class as a student interrupted her.  
“I wonder why?!”  
“Anyway, I’ll see you all next period! See ya!” she waved to the class as they walked out, then pulling out her cell phone to call her best friend on campus, “Hey, Pearl! Guess what? I just got done with my first class as a teacher!”  
At the other end of campus and the other line, Pearl Aragonite sat in her office, with coffee splashed on her shirt, an office telephone in her hand, and a scowl on her face, “That’s wonderful, Diana. I’m so, very happy for you,” she gritted through her teeth.  
“Listen, I have a class in fifteen minutes, but after that I’m free for an hour! Want to grab some lunch then?” Amethyst offered.  
Pearl took a deep sigh and asked, “What did you have in mind?  
“I passed by this burger place with a raspa stand next to it, and oh my gosh it’s been so long since I’ve been to one, and let’s be honest, I don’t think you’ve been to one,” Amethyst went on and on. Pearl had placed the phone down on her desk while she cleaned the coffee off of her shirt, trying to listen in for Amethyst asking any question.  
“You’d always do this Amethyst. Call me when I least expect it. I thought I never had to see you again when I received my bachelor. Yet here you are,” Pearl’s thoughts echoed through her mind before she thought out loud, “And here I am.”  
“Huh? Did you say something, P?” Amethyst’s voice called out to her.  
“Nothing, nothing. You said something about lunch, sure, I’ll eat with you,” she replied.  
“Awesome! I’ll pick you up the literal second I get off my next class! You make sure you bring that pretty face!” she hung up before Pearl had a chance to respond.  
Unbeknownst to the swim coach, her face was blushing red. She looked at a picture frame on her desk, standing close to a large woman, “Fourteen years, and I still can’t believe it.”

* * *

Pearl was a rather tall woman, and this was no more evident than when she was sitting in Amethyst’s sedan. Pearl believed that unless you drove the car yourself, or if you were going on a long road trip, you should never adjust the seat of someone else’s car, no matter how uncomfortable it made you. But because of her rule, she sat with her knees up to her chest, and her legs against the dashboard.  
“You sure you don’t want to push the seat back?” Amethyst asked while she braked at a red light.  
“I’m sure. But who even sits like this? Who do you bring with you that can stand this setup?”  
“One of my cousin’s girlfriend is like, almost as short as me, so we carpool together. I drop her off before I come to school,” Amethyst explained, “Man you should come to one of our big familia dinners! My cousins were always asking about you.”  
When the light turned green and since Amethyst was at the head of the pack of cars, she slammed on the accelerator and got from zero to fifty-five in eight seconds, “THE SPEED LIMIT IS FORTY-FIVE, AMETHYST!”  
After a few moments allowing Pearl to recollect her lost sanity, “I remember you said something about eating with your family but we never did.”  
“We should do it sometime! I always wanted you to meet mis primos,”  
“How many ‘primos’ do you have?”  
“Pfft! Fuck, Pearl, I forgot how white you are! Nah, I’ve got like, thirty-two cousins,”  
“Thirty-two?! H-how many aunts and uncles do you have?!”  
“Like. Four aunts and uncles, there’s the three cousins on his side side where Christina, Maria, and Breanna are from,” Amethyst tried counting all of them up before giving up, “Bottom line is we all have three grandmothers so we’re just una gran familia feliz.”  
About ten minutes later, they stopped on the side of the road where a few food stands had set up shop with a few tables and chairs underneath umbrellas.  
Pearl sat at the chair, trying to adjust the umbrella to shield her from both the sun and the wind as Amethyst was ordering their food.  
“So, how’s life been?” Amethyst started a conversation as she handed Pearl her meal.  
“Oh, it’s been fine, I’ve been coaching a swim team for the college for the past few years. I go home, watch Arrested Development while I eat a salad or whatever I cook up and then I go to bed. That’s been my life for the past few years.”  
“BOOORING! Damn, P, you need to live more! You don’t have any friends? No one to hang out with!? Jee-sus!” Amethyst laughed as she chewed into her burger.  
“I’ll have you know it’s a very peaceful living!” Pearl shot back as she cut her burger into four slices.  
“TBH, that isn’t much different from how I live. Take away Arrested Development and Salads and just replace it with whatever my grandma is cooking slash watching,” she admitted.  
“You live with your grandmother?”  
“Been living with her since day one! But so has my family and a few of my cousins,” she washed down her meal with a cola, “It’s a bit cramped sometimes, but hell, it’s familia!”  
“Well it sounds lovely, Amethyst,”  
“I hope you don’t mind me asking but I remember you used to hang out with a really big lady when we were in college. Whatever happened to her?”  
A smile appeared on Pearl’s face, “Rose Quartz. Yes. I hung out with her.”  
“You still do? Man, how long ago was this that I still remember?”  
“Well it was seventeen years ago that I met Rose, and it was sixteen years we met, not six,” Pearl did the math in her head, “I knew Rose for a long time. She meant the world to me.”  
“Oh man, was she, that important?”  
Pearl nodded, her memories floating back to when she first met Rose Quartz, “I was seventeen years old, and I’m certain I fell for her when I first met. I followed her everywhere, all across the country. I always wanted to confess to her but,” the happy memories started flying away, “I wasn’t the one she chose.”  
“Man, that really sucks, Pearl. I’m sorry that happened to you. Are you two at least still friends at least?”

* * *

**Fourteen Years Ago**

* * *

“C’mon, Rose! Just one more push!”  
In the dead of night, in a cabin snowed in and miles out in the Canadian wilderness, a young woman and a man were doing everything they can to help a mother through childbirth, “Is it almost out, Pearl?!”  
“It’s almost out! Get the towels ready, Greg!” she ordered him as he scrambled to get the supplies.

* * *

“She died fourteen years ago,” Pearl answered, looking towards the North.  
“Geez. Sorry about that. I didn’t know,” Amethyst rubbed the back of her head, looking away from Pearl, “I guess that explains why you were so down all the time for the last half of college.”  
“Yes. It’s fine, Amethyst! Don’t worry! Let’s change the subject!” Pearl drove her fork into one of the cut pieces of burger and started eating, “This is delicious!”  
After that dark turn of a conversation, the rest of the meal went a lot smoother, finally ending with Amethyst bringing snow cones from the rapsa stand.  
“I have to say, Amethyst, this was nice. Thank you for taking me out here,” Pearl bit into her snow cone.  
“No problem! It’s about time we hung out again!” Amethyst looked down at her purse, “Actually I wanted to bring something up. See, I know this guy who owes me a few favors and a few dollars, and he was able to get some things for me.”  
“Oh? And what are these things?”  
“I was able to get two tickets to see Garnet! You ever listen to her! She’s the bomb!” she showed off the tickets, “Anyway, she’s got a concert in a few months to kick off her new tour, and I figure, you and me could go to the concert together!”  
Pearl looked at the ticket with Garnet’s logo on it, “Oh Garnet. I’m glad that she’s still at the top of her game. I remember dancing for her first concert. The whole thing nearly fell apart, but somehow we were able to make it a success.”  
“Wait. You know Garnet?” Amethyst asked, the light beaming in her eyes.  
“I haven’t spoken to her in years, but yes I know her. Though I doubt she still remembers me,”  
“That is awesome! Man, you surprise me, Pearl,” Amethyst finished her snowcone before holding up the tickets once more, “Anyways, do you wanna go to the concert with me?”  
It was at that point that Pearl was starting to notice something was up, “Amethyst, I want you to know that I appreciate the gesture but, where is this coming from? Why do you want to spend so much time with me?”  
Amethyst looked Pearl in the eyes and took a deep breath, “Look. I’ve known you for a while. We haven’t been close in recent years, but,” Amethyst paused and took one last deep breath, “Let’s get to the point, I like you and I want to go out with you.”  
Pearl had been drinking water while Amethyst was talking, and when Pearl heard those words, some of the water went down the wrong tube and she began coughing real hard.  
“Coughing instead of saying no, that’s a good sign,” Amethyst murmured as Pearl recovered from her coughing fit.  
“You, you want to what?” Pearl asked, wiping tears away from her eyes.  
“I, uh, want to go out with you,”  
The two teachers stopped what they were doing and looked into each other’s eyes, neither noticing they were turning red, “Am-Amethyst this is so sudden, I, we haven’t been together for that long and it’s been so long since we last talked and-  
“Look, if you want the truth, I had a crush on you when we were rooming together. I always wanted to ask you out but you were hanging out with Rose Quartz all the time and I figured you two must have had a thing going on, and then, that happened to her and, I could never ask you out,” Amethyst explained.  
“I guess we were both looking for someone already in love,”  
“Well, when you say it like that it sounds like we’re in some garbage romance novel,”  
“Haha, or worse, a fanfiction,” Pearl brought up the worst possible fate. She looked down at her watch and said, “It looks like it’s our time together is cut short. Could you take me back to the campus?”  
“Yeah. No problem!” Amethyst responded, though in the back of her mind, she wished that Pearl would have answered her question.  
In comparison to the drive from, the drive back to campus was quiet, even with the radio turned off. Neither of them had the courage to start talking or bring up Amethyst’s question. Eventually, Amethyst parked her beat-up sedan by the Campus Gym, “Here you go. Thanks for eating lunch with me!”  
“No thanks for treating me! It was absolutely wonderful,” Pearl got out of the car but leaned over to look at Amethyst, “I think you asked me at the burger stand if I wanted to go out with you.”  
“Yeah. Go out and go on dates, and shit like that,” she admitted.  
“Would that make us girlfriends?”  
“Do you want to be? I mean, we could just date for a while, and see if we like it and-  
“Yes! I want to date you, Diana Amethyst! My answer is yes!”  
“FUCK YEAH, MOTHERFUCKERS!” Amethyst hopped out of her car and hugged the taller coach close.  
“DO YOU HEAR THIS, WORLD?! PEARL ARAGONITE IS GOING OUT WITH SOMEONE!” she yelled to the sky her declaration.  
Across the parking lot, Lapis Lazuli heard her coach screaming to the gods and only shook her head while she walked to the locker room.  
“So, we should probably exchange cell phone numbers, if we want to date. Can't just keep calling using our office phones,” Amethyst pulled out her phone.  
“Right, that’s what the kids do these days,” Pearl reached for her phone and recited her personal number, “So, I’ll see you around!”  
“I look forward to seeing you again! See ya!” she called out as she drove out of the parking lot at an alarmingly fast speed.  
Before Pearl walked into the gym she looked up to the sky and muttered, “Do you see me, Rose? I’m learning to let go. I’m learning to move on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this. small little update, I went back through Fragments and edited and fixed a lot of things related to time. I'm sorta thinking the timeline for this story is confusing, but I think I'll make a timeline next chapter so that no one is confused anymore and to get everyone up to speed.  
> And btw, that girlfriend of one of Amethyst's cousins is Carnelian. you know. From the Famethyst! WHO WILL BE IN A FUTURE CHAPTER! 
> 
> Sorry this update was a little late, got caught up with work and school, but now I think we should be good.
> 
> One last thing that I forgot to bring up. I had Amethyst speak Spanish in some of her dialogue, because she would probably be bilingual if she was a Tejana living in San Antonio. Personally, I do not know how to speak Spanish, nor do I know how to translate Spanish to the Tex Spanish spoken around San Antonio. I'm using Google translate for some of the phrases, so if it comes off as unnatural that is why.   
> Consider this my first attempt at writing a bilingual character. I've got a story idea for some day down the road to be about bilingualism, but that's for another time. Anyways, the next update should happen sometime before the new year. and if not, you all have permission to crucify me. ;)


	17. Chapter 17

**College Freshman Year Second Semester**

* * *

Peridot walked along the sidewalk of a part of town she’d never been to before, “Steven, you are taking me to your house, right?”  
Steven walked ahead of her, balancing himself on the curb, “No, I don’t have a house. But I am taking you to my home!”  
Didn’t really answer Peridot’s question but the girl ‘kept on walking, “Alright, you don’t have a house. What do you have? An apartment?”  
“Nope,”  
“Please don’t tell me we’re just walking to your dad’s van,” Peridot started dreading the image of Steven presenting a beat up van as his home.  
“My dad used to live in his van for a few years, but after I was born we started living in motel rooms,”  
“Is it the kind of hotel where you walk inside and go find the door or is it the kind where you drive up and the door is right there?”  
“Well, motels are where you just described, driving up and the doors right there. Hotels are just big buildings with the doors on the inside,” Steven explained the intricacies of hotels and motels.  
“Oh okay. I always thought they were interchangeable but I guess they have a meaning for different things. So is yours on the ground floor?”  
“No. Ours is on the second floor. The ground floor is for people who get robbed,” Steven answered rather matter-of-factly.  
Eventually Steven lead Peridot from a bus stop to a rather unimpressive motel. One of those non-name brand places you’d see in Yelp and never consider because it has less than three stars. In front of a set of stairs was a van with multi-colored lines and the image of the earth plastered on its side, along with the word “Universe” over the side.  
“Is that yours?” Peridot felt she was asking a stupid slash obvious question.  
“No. It’s my dad’s,” he explained, “Now follow me!”  
The two young adults four years apart walked up the stairs, though the elder was letting it known how much she disliked stairs. Steven walked up to the door closest to the stairs and pulled out a key and unlocked the door, “Dad?! I’m home! I brought a new friend!”  
On the inside, to be completely blunt was an absolute dump. It was single couch facing a TV, with cans and trash thrown everywhere, and a middle-aged, bearded, long-haired yet still bald man in a tank top and jean shorts sleeping on the couch.  
“Steven, are you sure you wouldn’t want to hang out at my house? This place is kinda,” the smell of man filled Peridot’s nostrils, “Dank.”  
“This is the only part of our place that’s like this, my room is a lot cleaner. Dad! I brought a friend! We’re going to play video games!” Steven was now yelling at his sleeping father.  
He wasn’t responding and instead turned over and started sleeping even harder.  
Steven shrugged to Peridot and led her to a space with two doors on each side, one leading to a bathroom which at the time was not ready for guest use and the other led to Steven’s room. A few years ago when Steven’s father rented out the motel room, he figured that a young man should have a proper bed to sleep on to grow while he, being a man who has spent many years on a couch, wouldn’t be too bothered by having to use the couch and quote-on-quote living room as his own sleeping space.  
Steven’s room was a pretty small, but she wasn’t sure if that was due to the room space or the amount of stuff in it. There was a rather large king size bed in the center that took up half of the room with a small TV set in front of it, a dresser at the bed’s right side, a shelf of video games and consoles, and a desk right next to the doorway. If it weren’t for the bed and the chair at the desk, Steven’s room would have been standing room only.  
“It’s a bit cramp in here, but it’s cozy!” Steven explained.  
“So you just wanted to show me your games right? What have ya got?” Peridot asked sitting down at the foot of his bed.  
“Well let me show you my three favorite games ever!” Steven went through his collection, digging through the stacks of games, “Uh, how have you been?”  
“Trying to figure myself out,” Peridot answered, “Me and Lapis are planning on going on a trip as soon as her semester is over, but I’m trying to, I don’t know.”  
“A week ago you were so excited about this trip and now you’re kinda bummed out. What’s the deal?” Steven asked.  
“It’s just,” Peridot paused to pull up the leg of her pants, “This thing has been with me for a while, and I’m still not used to it. There’s days where I’m ok with it and days where I hate feeling this thing,” she left out the part where she could still feel her leg  
Steven sat next to Peridot and looked down at her prosthetic, “Are you still ok to hang out? It sounds like you need some alone time.”  
“I’ve had enough alone time and it hasn’t gotten me anywhere! Now,” Peridot turned to Steven, “What’s your fave games, dude?”  
Steven held up three games from three different consoles, “I really like Majora’s Mask!”  
“Excellent choice. Have you ever completed it?”  
“Define completing,”  
“What do you mean by that?”  
“Well, do you mean get all the heart pieces and all of the masks? Or do you mean get all the masks?”  
“I would define completing the game as you get everything you possibly could,”  
“Then no, I’ve only gone after the Masks. I don’t go after heart pieces in Zelda unless they’re right there,”  
“Let me tell you, I had a lot of free time after my surgery so I completed a lot of games, and I hunted down every Heart Piece I could get my hands on. Hell, or heck, there was one time I was able to do Snowhead before Woodfall temple. I even found a rom of the Japanese version of the game,”  
“What was that like?”  
“It changes you, man. It changes you for the worse,” the images of dolphin flipping failure filled Peridot’s mind, “Alright, show me the second game.”  
Steven held up a blue, see-through Gameboy Advance cartridge, “Mother 3. I haven’t played any of the games before it, but this was really sweet. It made me tear up.”  
“Alright, and what about your third game,” Peridot was expecting another feel-good Nintendo game to be among his favorites, but she could not be further from the truth.  
“RULES OF NATURE! Metal Gear Rising, REVENGEANCE!” Steven yelled in triumph, “Have you ever played this, it is awesome!”  
“You like Metal Gear?”  
Steven proceeded to cover his right eye and spoke in a gruff voice, “Our heaven and our hell, this is our Outer Heaven!”  
“And this one is your favorite?”  
“Well, I like all of the Metal Gear games, but Raiden is my favorite character!” Steven pointed to a wall scroll of the ninja in his cybernetic suit, “Do you like Metal Gear?”  
“Sorta. I played them all on the HD collection for my PS3, but believe it or not, I’ve actually the ones on MSX!”  
“No way! You had an MSX?”  
“Well, my aunt did. Whenever my family went over to her house, I’d play something on some of her old computers. She picked up an MSX from the homeland because she’s into collecting old computers,” Peridot explained, “Your dad lets you play this game?”  
“Yeah. I started playing the Metal Gear games when I was eleven. Why do you ask?”  
Peridot shrugged, “It’s just, I would think that you’re so young, you wouldn’t play violent games like that.”  
For once, Steven looked annoyed, “Look, I know I look like I’m some innocent child. You don’t know how many times I’ve been to Gamestop and the guy is like, Aren’t you a little young to be playing this?” Steven lied down on his bed and stared at the ceiling, “I hate that I’m fourteen and I’m still treated like a little kid.”  
Peridot stared up at the ceiling with him, “Preaching to the choir. You have no idea how often people treated me like a fragile child after my accident. I never let anyone know about my leg because they’ll treat me like I’m less of a person.”  
“Exactly! They treat you like you’re a cinnamon roll that can do no wrong! I’m not a cinnamon roll! I watch iDubbbz!” Steven pointed to his computer that had one of his bad unboxings paused midway through.  
“If they see you as small or weak then you’re something that needs to be protected,” Peridot added, “Fu- I mean to heck with people!”  
“Ok one more thing! Just because I choose not to swear, doesn’t mean you can’t,”  
“Well if you’re ok with it then,” Peridot took a deep breath, “FUCK ADULTS!”  
Peridot was filled with confidence when she yelled that into the heavens, unaware that her declaration might have awoken one of those adults that she had cursed. Steven and Peridot heard shuffling in the other room and a large body approaching the door. The door opened and Steven’s father was at the entrance.  
“Steven what are you watching?” he was rubbing his eyes with his fingers before he looked up and saw Peridot and Steven sitting together.  
Peridot suddenly realized how bad the situation looked, “THIS ISN’T WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!” she jumped off the bed and raised her arms.  
Steven’s father stared deadpan at Peridot and looked at his son, “Steven who is this?”  
“This is my friend, Peridot! I met her at Dr. Maheswaran’s office!”  
He looked back to the young woman who was now on her knees with praying hands, “I’m only eighteen! I’m not into guys! I have a girlfriend!”  
He stared down at the young woman with a raised eyebrow, but shook his head, “Anyways, I just wanted to see what you were up to,” he looked back down at Peridot, “Good to meet you, Peridot,” he offered his hand, “The name’s Greg Universe.”  
Peridot looked at his hand and shook it as she got up, “You’re not, uh, anything about this?”  
“I have made sure to teach Steven common sense and how to handle a knife if he meets anyone suspicious. Ain’t that right, Steven?”  
Surprisingly to Peridot, the young man pulled out a pocket knife, “Only in extreme emergencies! And I’ve brought Lars and Sadie over once for a movie night!”  
“That was odd, finding out. How did you even meet them? And how did you meet her?”  
“I met Lars and Sadie when I wanted donuts. And I met Peridot when I was waiting to hang out with Connie at Dr. Maheswaran’s office,”  
“Right. Anyway, I’m gonna take a shower. So, yeah,” he walked out and into the bathroom across from Steven’s door.  
Peridot sat back on Steven’s bed, “So that was your dad?”  
“Yeah! He’s really cool! He used to be in a whole bunch of bands! Dad! Who did you use to play for?!” Steven called to him.  
“Rufus Thomas!” his muffled voice came out of the bathroom before his head popped out, “I was a Drell, I was a drifter, I was a coaster, I was part of the Gang, I was a Bar-Kay. If they came through Texas, I played with ‘em,” he closed the door again to prepare for his nightly work.  
“My dad is the man!” Steven cheered.  
Because his backstory should be saved for when he is out of the bathroom and shouldn’t be fed by Steven, the gaymer watched the gamer show off his skills in Metal Gear Rising.  
“You’ve S Ranked every boss fight?” Peridot asked.  
“And I’m working on taking no damage during each boss fight. That’s harder than it sounds, believe me,” Steven admitted as he flawlessly cut down the in-game enemies, “I’ve done it for Metal Gear Ray, BladeWolf, Sundowner, and Jetstream Sam. Right now I’m trying to figure out how Monsoon works,”  
“Getting the worst out of the way first?”  
“No, that would be the final boss,” he took a deep breath, “Man I’m not looking forward to that. But at least the music will be awesome!” Steven looked over to Peridot, “What games have you been playing these days?”  
“Call me basic, but I’ve been playing that Overwatch. It’s a mix of loving the game and hating myself for loving it. You ever play it?”  
“YEAH! I love playing Mercy!”  
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” Peridot stated, “I’ve been a Reinhardt player myself, though I swear people have no freaking clue how to stand behind a shield. There was this one time a while ago this kid was like, You should really do a better job at protecting me if you want to be healed, and I went off on him.”  
Steven looked to Peridot and asked, “Was this Mercy in the Valhalla skin?”  
Peridot slowly turned to Steven and asked, “Was this Reinhardt in the Blackhardt skin?”  
Steven and Peridot nodded to each other, the awkwardness permeating over them, “Anyways! I’ve been playing that every now and then. It’s like something I play whenever I’m bored and have no idea what I want to play. You ever get that feeling?”  
As Greg overheard bits and pieces of their conversation, his mind wandered to a time before the new millennium when he was a drifter.

* * *

**1990 - Corpus Christi**

* * *

“Hey! Can I get a couple more drinks over here,” Greg Universe called for the bartender in the middle of talking to a fireball, “So you’re heading over to Kuwait in a few days?”  
“That’s right!” a short woman in a military uniform with a red bandana wrapped over her forehead chugged a bottle of whiskey and slammed, “My father fought in ‘Nam! His father fought in Iwo Jima! His father fought in the trenches! AND NOW IT’S MY TIME TO FIGHT!” The combination of passion and a high alcohol count was bringing out the ham in Ruby.  
“Better you than me, Ruby,” Greg laughed as he guzzled down his own drink, “You’ll never see me carrying a gun for Uncle Sam!”  
“You make me sick, Universe! You and your shitty last name!” she bottomed the last drop of her drink, “I should kick your ass and drag you to the recruiter!”  
The barkeep brought them drinks to their table, “Should I add this your tab, Universe?”  
“Yeah, yeah! It’s on me!” he nodded to him while popping open another bottle, “Hey, you might be a super-soldier, but I’ve had my share of tussles!” Greg drank down another bottle, “Have you ever played non-country music in a hick bar? You learn two things from it,” he raised his hand in a peace sign, “You learn to never play non-country music for hicks and rednecks, and you learn how to fight your way out of a bar, and you learn to love chicken wire.”  
“That’s three things, hippie!” she opened a bottle of jack and drank it down, “If you didn’t play some damn good guitar, I’d say you’d be a worthless specimen of a human being!” Ruby declared.  
“And if you weren’t such a good drinking friend and the best soldier I ever met, then I’d say the same thing to you!”  
She laughed at him before raising her bottle, “To hell with you, Universe!”  
He tapped his bottle with hers, “And to hell with you, Ruby!” before they both chugged their bottles.

* * *

Peridot was still marveling at Steven’s skill with Metal Gear Rising as he was showing off a no damage fight with the Metal Gear Ray, “Have you ever done a speed run of this game before?”  
“I can’t do them. It just feels weird breaking a game to get through it fast. I kind of like playing games in a relaxed kind of way,”  
“I get that and-  
The two heard a knock on the door and Steven immediately paused his game to head to greet the person at the door. Peridot followed, not wanting to be alone in someone’s house nor with the sounds of a person showering next door. She already had enough of the latter at home.  
Peridot walked into the main room as Steven had already opened the door to a new guest, “AUNT PEARL!” despite us the audience having been with Pearl a few times, Peridot had only met Pearl once before, and that was quite a while ago so she was struggling to remember if she had met someone named Pearl.  
Peridot looked at the open doorway and saw Steven hugging Lapis’ swim coach, “It’s good to see you again, Steven. Have you been keeping up with your studies?”  
“I’ve been doing great! I even got an A on one of my tests!” he exclaimed.  
“That’s great, Steven! Now let’s work even harder so that A isn’t all by itself,”  
“Oh and I made a new friend! Do you wanna meet her?”  
“I’d love to Steven, but I have to speak with your father about something important. May I come in?”  
“Sure! My dad’s almost done in the shower so he should be out in a few minutes. Hey dad!”  
“What is it, Steven?!” his voice was now muffled by the sounds of rushing sink water.  
“Aunt Pearl is here!”  
“PEARL?! Uh. Tell her to, um. I’ll be out there in second!”  
Pearl walked into the Universe home, attempting to not judge her acquaintance for the state of his room. Clothes, food wrappings, cans, bottles were across the entire room, though room was being generous, as all it was is a couch across from a TV, with a mini fridge and a card table directly in front of where someone would come through the door.  
And as Pearl was averting eyes from the crisis of a place Greg was sleeping in, her eyes fell on a woman she had met a while ago, “Peridot? Is that you?”  
“Yeah, you’re um, Lapis’ swim coach, right?”  
Being a college teacher, Pearl was used to people not remember her name, so on reflex she responded, “Yes. Pearl Aragonite. She approached her star pupil’s girlfriend and offered her hand, “It’s good to see you again.”  
Peridot took the taller woman’s hands and nodded, “Likewise. Um, I’m a friend of Steven’s,” she looked to the young man who had a face that could only be described as. Ecstatic.  
“Yeah! SHE CONFIRMED THAT WE’RE FRIENDS!”  
“I suppose that would explain why you’re here. Once again, I wish we could speak under better circumstances,” she stated, referring to the state of the Universe Home, and when the smell of a man cave was starting to get to her, she called, “Greg are you almost out?”  
“Uh, just one second. Steven can you grab some clothes for me?”  
His son wandered into the wasteland and yelled back, “Which ones are clean?!”  
A pause, as if Greg Universe was contemplating where in the reaches of his home, would a set of cleanish clothes would be before responding, “I think the green basket has the last of my laundry there!”  
Steven looked around until he saw said basket and brought it to the bathroom door where his father’s hand popped through to grab said clothes and within a few moments he presented himself.  
“Pearl! It’s great to see you again, it’s been what, three months? How’ve you been?” he greeted his old friend.  
“Well, I wanted to talk to you, in private, if that’s alright with you,”  
Greg brushed the back of his head and nodded, “Sure. Let’s take it outside. Steven, go back to playing games for now,” he asked his son.  
“Sure, dad! C’mon, Peridot!” Steven dragged his new friend to his room for more game action.

* * *

The two adults leaned against the walls of Greg’s room, looking out to the clear, blue skies, “I don’t mean to nag but I recall the last time we spoke, you were going to clean your home,” Pearl jabbed at her friend.  
“Well, it was clean. For a few weeks at least. Then it turned into that and well, it kinda stayed like that,”  
“I understand. Are your jobs still doing well for you?”  
“Well, I can feel myself growing older the more I work, but it keeps a roof over Steven’s head and pays for his college bill, then I don’t mind,” Greg admitted before popping his back, “But I gotta tell you, sleeping on that coach for the past decade has not done my back well.”  
Pearl laughed a bit, “And your music? You’re still playing at the-  
“Blue Diamond, yeah. I run all the sound mixing and engineering for the other bands that show up. I don’t know how the owner does it, but she’s able to get big names in that bar for performances. Last night we had Bob Seger on and I got to play guitar with him. That’s kinda why I was asleep until now,” hearing that man sing alongside was a joy he never thought he could have experienced, “Haven’t been playing original music in a while. Haven’t found the time.”  
Before Steven was born, Greg travelled across the States, playing at whatever bar he came across to pay for his meals, or being a roadie for any band that approached him. He travelled to every corner of the country and played with any band, never having a home until he met Steven’s mother.  
“You wanted to talk about something, right?” he asked her.  
“I did. I wanted to talk to you about Rose,” she spoke very fast but that name dropped like a rock on both of them.  
“You did? What did you want to talk about?”

* * *

**Beach City - 16 Years Ago**

* * *

In the middle of Winter, he stood at the edge of a curb strumming on his string guitar hoping it would attract the attention of any beach-goers. Unfortunately, the town he was in was practically dead for the next three months with only the six hundred people who lived there not wanting to throw coins into his case.  
After a few hours he gave up and began packing up, “I don’t even have enough for a meal, how will this be enough to get to Philadelphia?”  
“You’re stopping already?” he turned around and saw two women, one a large lady with pink hair, and a tall young woman standing by each other, though the pink-haired lady was clearly more enamored with his music than the the younger one.  
“Uh, no. I was just about to grab lunch,” he couldn’t help but take in her entire appearance. There was something about her that called to him.  
She began to laugh, “Really? Because it seems to me that you’re broke,” she pointed to the pile of coins in his guitar case and along the beach sand, “Tell you what. You play me and my friend a song, and if we enjoy it, then I’ll buy you lunch.”  
He already had his guitar and pick out, “You’re on. Mind telling me who I’m playing for?”  
“You’re playing for Rose Quartz,”

* * *

“I still remember the first time I met her,” he smiled at the memory of her, “I fell in love with her when she bought me lunch.”  
A large cloud blocked out the sun’s light and Pearl leaned forward against the railing, looking down at the motel’s driveway, “I fell in love with her the first time I saw her. I loved her, and she chose, and she loved you.”  
Greg leaned back on the rails, looking up at the sky, “And now she’s gone,” he nodded, “I guess we both know what it means to have loved and lost.”  
They didn’t speak a word, as the memories of the woman they loved flowed through both of them. Memories that neither doubted would ever go away.  
“I really miss her, Pearl. Every time I see Steven smile, it just reminds of how Rose used to smile,”  
“Your son is a wonderful young man. He’s going to do great things one of these days,”  
“As much as I love to talk about her, I have a feeling you didn’t come out here just to reminisce about Rose,”  
Suddenly Pearl’s face was filled with life as she turned to Greg, “That’s right! I wanted to tell you about what’s happened to me,” Pearl got out her phone and swiped to a picture of herself and Amethyst, “So believe it or not, I have been seeing someone.”  
“Really? You finally started dating?” he kept it to himself, but he never thought that Pearl would find someone after Rose, though the the same thing was true about him.  
“I did. I’m dating one of my old friends. We’ve already eaten lunch together a few times and we’ve been talking for a while and,” Pearl smiled thinking about her, “I think I’m starting to move on from Rose.”  
She felt a hand on her shoulder, “I’m happy for you, Pearl.”  
It was as if a weight was starting to lift off of their shoulders. For so long, both of them carried the memory of Rose Quartz, and though she was a brief part of their lives, she changed Pearl Aragonite and Greg Universe more than anyone else. And yet when she left this world, her absense was felt hard.  
The sad truth about this world that they had to learn is when someone you love leaves, you never get over it. You just learn how to live with it, and for the past fourteen years, these two persons have finally been moving forward to live with the loss of a loved one.  
“Do you wanna go get a drink? I think we could both use one,”

* * *

“The duality of man is not a simple construct, it has layers upon layers of complexity! God speed you magnificent son of a bitch!” a scottish rubber man ranted to a Japanese speaking dog on the YouTube.  
Peridot raised her eyebrow in confusion, “How do you find videos like this anyway?” she asked while the dog flew into a Star Trek scene.  
“The scary thing is I have no idea,” Steven admitted, clicking off to another video where a man started to talk about how magnets work.  
While they watched the Canadian madman, they also overheard Steven’s dad and Pearl laughing together.  
“Hey, what’s the deal with your dad and Pearl? Is she really your aunt?”  
Steven laughed a bit, “No, she’s not my aunt. We’re not related, but she and my dad have known each other for a long time. They were both friends with my mom and so they still talk, and might be friends now?”  
“They weren’t friends?” Peridot was getting confused by this incoming lore.  
“Yeah I’m a little confused about it too. It’s best you ask my dad or Aunt Pearl about it. Maybe not now, because my dad sounds like he’s drinking,” Steven overheard more laughing, “He already went drinking this week, so,” he took a deep sigh, “I wish he didn’t drink as much as he did.”  
“I can relate. I’d like my girlfriend to stop drinking altogether,”  
“We really do have a lot of things in common,” Steven pointed out.  
But as the video ended, Peridot saw the time on Steven’s computer, “I should probably head home, it’s getting kinda late.”  
“Wanna hang out again sometime? I’ve got Smash!”  
Peridot walked out of Steven’s room, smiling and nodding to his request, “Sure! I’ll whoop your ass with my Luigi!”  
“Bring it on!” he punched the palm of his fist, and flinched from his own impact.  
Peridot laughed at her friend and walked out of Steven’s home and down the steps of the motel they stayed at, witnessing Greg Universe and Pearl endlessly talking about the woman named Rose Quartz.

* * *

In a bar not too far from the place the Universe’s stayed at, a tall woman was slumped over on her desk in the bar’s office, with a half-full bottle of liquor grasped in her hand. A petite woman with bangs covering her eyes sat in a chair opposite of her employer.  
A rotary phone began ringing, and the half-asleep woman started groaning before the assistant could answer, “Hello, this is the Blue Diamond, how may I assist you,” she quietly spoke into the phone.  
“Yeah, have you got a guy named Greg Universe working for ya?” an aggressive voice came through the speaker.  
“Yes, he-  
“Good! I’m gonna be there soon with my daughter,” and the woman hung up.

* * *

She came into town with only a duffel bag and a football to her name. There she sought to find the person she had been separated from for too long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So just a couple of things, this chapter was going to be a little longer with them going to the Blue Diamond, but I couldn't find a way for it to happen naturally, and Greg probably would never take Steven there. Also Peridot was gonna drive them home in the van, because Greg and Pearl were gonna be a little too tipsy to drive. Again, I found no natural way for it to happen, so I decided against it. This chapter is already long enough as is. 
> 
> I do hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I think it could have been better, but we got more character development out of Peridot and Steven, we're introduced to Greg, as well as the issues he faces. 
> 
> I think I may have gone a little overboard with the video game references. So much so that it's no longer references, but they were fucking talking about them. Well, just like everything, smile and nod, and we'll get to the good shit.
> 
> By the way, in case you are curious, these are the videos Steven and Peridot were watching
> 
> None Piece Episode 4  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipMagcF26fM
> 
> The Joy of Magnets  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsXlnQdzfes&t
> 
> Both of these can be described as, hilarious.
> 
> Next chapter is gonna have football.


	18. Chapter 18

**College Freshman Year Second Semester**

* * *

On most days if the weather was nice, and she didn’t have to study or train for swimming, Lapis Lazuli liked to visit the park on the river. It was always peaceful, especially during the early morning when very little people weren’t up. When the air was still pretty cool, true serenity could be achieved and today, Lapis had found it.  
She didn’t have any classes today, nor did she have swim practice. If anything, today was the perfect day to relax. She stretched her arms and popped her back while she walked to the river barrier, and sat down with her legs dangling over, as she watched the river’s slow flow.  
A few minutes passed and she felt a presence behind her, and if it weren’t for the noises her leg was making, she wouldn’t have known who it was.  
The blonde girl sat down next to her girlfriend, but didn’t take the risk of letting her leg dangle over the water. Peridot reached for Lapis’ hand and held it in her own, and Lapis’ fingers slipped between Peridot’s.  
The two didn’t say anything, only sitting back to enjoy the ambience of nature. Lapis moved closer to Peridot and leaned on her shoulder and muttered, “I miss the ocean, Peri.”  
“Do you?”  
“When I was a little girl, I would always watch the sun go down. And before I moved here, I would wake up early to watch the sun rise from the ocean,” she looked down at the river, “I want to live on the ocean again, someday.”  
Peridot leaned against Lapis and closed her eyes, “If it will make you happy, I can make it happen.”  
“You don’t need to,”  
Peridot shot a quick look at Lapis and was about to ask what she meant before the blue-haired girl kissed her on the lips.  
“You already make me happy,”  
It wasn’t too long ago when they both hit rock bottom, and yet that didn’t change how much they still loved each other.  
“Though I suppose a house on the beach wouldn’t be a bad touch,”  
“Don’t push it. I have to become the world’s most powerful scientist first before you get your beach house,”  
They turned to look across the river as the park started getting more livelier, “How’s your whole ‘figuring things out’ going?”  
Peridot sighed and shrugged, “It’s going, is all I really gotta say. I’m figuring out more stuff about me but I don’t know how to make it better,” she explained.  
“Well this thing has been eating at you for so long. It’ll take a while to get over it,”  
“I at least want to figure out what about it is eating me up. That’s what I’ve been thinking about,” Peridot laid back and rested her head on the grass, “Never lose your leg, Lazuli. It’s never worth it.”  
Lapis laughed, “Duly noted, Olivine,” and she continued to watch the river flow.  
The peace and serenity was broken by the bouncing of a football, mere inches away from Peridot’s thighs as it dropped into the river.  
“WHAT WAS THAT!” Peridot jolted up and looked everywhere for the source of this opening attack, “Someone is trying to kill me, Lapis!”  
“It was just a football. But who’s the asshole who threw it?” Lapis looked behind her for the offender.  
They both looked behind and saw a group of guys and one girl running up to the side of the river, though they didn’t seem to notice Peridot or Lapis.  
“Ah man! You threw it into the river!” one of them noticed the piece of pigskin floating down the river.  
“If we run we can catch it at the dam!” another suggested, and they all bolted down the river to catch up to the ball of America’s favorite pastime.  
The girl started to run with them but stopped when she saw Peridot. She looked down quizzically at her, looking at her from different angles to see if she could recognize the blonde woman.  
“If you like my face so much why don’t you take a picture?” Peridot snarked at the large woman.  
She grew a big smile on her face, “Heheh. You’re always gonna be a virgin!”  
Lapis shot a look at the woman like she was gonna throw her in the river, until Peridot started laughing and quipped, “I’m not a fucking virgin, I’ve seen a vagina on the internet!”  
The large woman and Peridot laughed together, Peridot laughing the hardest Lapis had seen her in a very long time, though this didn’t stop her from being confused as to what the heckarroni was going on, “Is this a normal thing Texas people do that I haven’t been aware of?”  
“Lapis! I can’t believe it but, right here! It’s Jasper!”  
Lapis looked up and finally took in the view of the so-called Jasper. She was a tall woman at six feet at least, with a long mane of white-dyed hair, had freaking ripped muscles, and had vitiligo across her arms and one stretch across her face where her eyes were.  
“Who? You know her?” Lapis looked to the side at Peridot and back up at Jasper, feeling intimidated by how much of a skyscraper this lady was.  
“I never told you? Jasper was my best friend in elementary school before she moved,” Peridot noticed how buff her old friend was, “But you’re a lot different than what I remember.”  
Jasper sat down next to Peridot and put her arm around her, “No kidding right? Like, how big was I when we were kids?”  
“Enough to nearly break my back,” she whispered to the win, “But holy shit! Jasper, you’re supposed to hit the gym, not beat the gym! Where the hell did you get all of this?”  
For a good minute, Jasper couldn’t answer Peridot’s question due to how much she was laughing, both from the blonde’s antics and from how much she missed her, “Man I forgot how funny you were, Peridot. Nah, I got this from high school and college.”  
“What were you doing in,” the gears in Peridot’s head started to turn, “NO WAY! You did it?!”  
Lapis was completely lost in this conversation, “Did what? Please inform me, I’m lost.”  
“Not only did I do it, I’m doing it,”  
“THAT IS AWESOME!”  
“Doing what?”  
And in perfect unison, Peridot and Jasper raised their arms together and shouted, “FOOTBALL!”  
And from down the river, the group of guys responded with their own, “FOOTBALL!”  
“Football?” Lapis asked.  
“FOOTBALL!” Peridot and Jasper shouted again.  
“FOOTBALL!” the group of guys responded again.  
These antics were getting to be a bit much for Lapis, “Anyways, Peridot, I didn’t know you were into football?”  
“You didn’t? Man, when we were kids, you couldn’t get Peridot to shut up about it. And if you could, then she wouldn’t shut up about video games,” Jasper recounted the many conversations they had when they were kids.  
“Girl, you’re preaching to the choir,” Lapis raise her fist over Peridot and Jasper fistbumped it.  
“I’m right here, you know,” Peridot remarked with her arms crossed and a scowl across her face, “But if you’re playing football, you kinda came to the wrong town.”  
“Yeah. Right now I’m actually going through a community college to get through my basics and then I’m gonna transfer to Texas A&M,”  
“AND BE AN AGGIE?!”  
“YOU KNOW IT!”  
Lapis sat at the opposite end of this discussion, with a face of apathetic boredom. Never in her life had she considered herself a football fan, and yet her mother would always move to places where the fans were rampant. She never saw the appeal and when she was dragged to a game by one of her friends in Fremont, she was so bored she walked home after saying she was going to the restroom. So right now, with two women going on endlessly about a sport where men and women cover themselves in armor, smack into each other, and throw an amalgamation of pigskin to one another on one-hundred yards of marked grass, the option to throw herself into the San Antonio River became more and more appealing.  
Eventually she turned back to Peridot and Jasper who weren’t catching up with each other, rather they were just talking about football. Peridot had that thing to her where, no matter how long it had been since she last saw you, she could talk to you like it had only been a day, and go on about what you two used to talk about.  
When Lapis had brought old friends to visit Peridot after her surgery, they found themselves talking about their own lives with Peridot rather than her predicament. Though to Lapis this made sense, considering what entailed with Peridot’s situation wasn’t a peppy conversation topic for anyone.  
Finally running out of things to discuss within her own mind, Lapis decided to listen in on the football discussion.  
“And that is why I hate Tom Brady,” Peridot ended with an odd thesis statement. And Lapis didn’t even know who Tom Brady was. I don’t even know who Tom Brady is!  
Jasper stood up and looked down the river and saw her group of friends had found their football, “Hey Peridot, do you wanna come with and toss the ball around?”  
Her expression changed and she looked away from her old friend, “I’m sorry I can’t.”  
Jasper squatted down and nudged the smaller girl, “Hey, c’mon! I know you still like to throw one around. It’ll be like old times!”  
“No, what I mean is,” Peridot didn’t face her, and pulled up the leg of her pants, “I can’t.”  
Jasper’s eyes widened bigger than they had ever before, “Oh shit.”

* * *

**That Day**

* * *

She was barely able to move, and in a state of mind where she could blank out in any second. There were a few seconds left of consciousness, but she could remember two things; the sounds of people scrambling around, and the agonizing pain in her leg that was putting her into shock.

* * *

The group had moved over to a bench overlooking an empty baseball field, where Peridot was looking down at the ground, “That’s what happened.”  
It tore Lapis up how much Peridot had changed from a few minutes ago. She was so energetic and full of life, and yet when she brought up what happened, it drained the life out of her. Even now she looked paler than before and her eyes were empty.  
When Peridot had told her story, she endlessly tapped her fingers on the muffled metal covered by her jeans. She didn’t want to face her friend directly when she talked about “that.”  
“Sorry, this was so heavy,” Peridot muttered.  
This was the first time Lapis had heard the whole story from Peridot herself. When she heard what happened from Mr. and Mrs. Olivine, she only heard a summation, dried out of all melodrama. But when she heard from Peridot, she could feel that pain, like every word was a dagger.  
And Jasper, after finally meeting her friend after so many years missing her best friend, had that huge weight of Peridot’s on her. She stepped up from the bench and stood in front of Peridot, and squatted down so her face was inches away from Peridot’s, “I don’t care.”  
The blonde’s face shot up at Jasper’s, “What? What do you-  
“I asked if you wanted to throw a football around, not your tragic backstory,” Jasper declared, keeping her eyes set on Peridot’s, looking straight into your soul, “I don’t care if you lost your leg. You’re still that Peridot I hung out with every day. The same one I’ve missed. And so if your arm still works, then I want to toss some ball? Are you in or are you out?”  
Peridot looked down at her own leg, unsure of how to answer her friend. She felt Lapis’ hand on her shoulder, “It’s ok. You can do this.”  
Peridot nodded and turned back to Jasper, “Alright then, Jasper! I’ll take you up on that offer!”  
The larger woman had an even bigger smile on her face than before and offered her hand to Peridot, “Glad to hear it!” and she pulled her off the bench and onto the ground, “I’m gonna grab a ball! It’ll be like old times!”  
She ran off towards the parking lot to a big ass truck with high suspension. You know, your typical redneck football player truck.  
Lapis watched her run away and whistled, “Day-um. She is buff as fuck,” she turned back to Peridot, “Can I ask you something?”  
“Yeah! Shoot!”  
“You do know that, I don’t care about your leg, right? You know it’s never bothered me,”  
Peridot faced Lapis and had a look on her face like she was finally figuring out every secret that the world had to offer. It’s like that gif on tumblr with the middle-aged woman, thinking to herself as math equations pop up everywhere, “It-it doesn’t?”  
“No. Did you really think your leg bothered me? I know I can be an ass, Peri, but I’m not a douchebag,” the realization of what Peridot thought all these years was crashing down on her, “Oh god. You actually thought it bothered me,”  
She nodded, “Yeah.”  
Lapis hugged her tight, “I’m sorry. You’ve been worry this whole time. I should have told you,”  
“No, no, no! Don’t worry about! It’s only been my problem, so you don’t have to-  
Lapis cut her off with a kiss. It wasn’t very deep and Lapis made it short, but it still felt wonderful to Peridot, “We’re a thing, Peri. Your problems are my problems, and whatever I can do, I’ll help you through this.”  
Peridot nodded her head and pressed her head against her girlfriend’s, “I’m so lucky to have you.”  
Lapis laughed, “Please, I’m lucky to have you.”  
They turned back and saw the big cheeto puff, Jasper coming back with a football under her arm and a confused look on her face, “So, Peridot, judging by the fact you’re making out with her, I guess she’s not your cousin?”  
Lapis held up Peridot’s pale arm against her own, “Look at me! How can we be cousins? I am of Filipino-descent! I am the opposite of her!”  
Jasper let out a small laugh and approached her, “Same here,” she offered her fist for a bump, “It’s good to know Peridot is in good hands.”  
Lapis smiled, “And it’s good to know that Peridot used to be in some thicc hands,” a freudian slipped out, “I mean, buff hands.”  
Peridot shook her head, “Incredible, Lazuli.In-freaking-credible,” she stepped on to the ground and pointed to Jasper, “Alright then, let’s start throwing some football!”  
“YEAH!” and the two of them ran off towards a clearing where Jasper threw a football hard enough for Peridot to catch it, but still push her to the ground. Peridot immediately was on her feet and threw the football back at Jasper.  
Lapis watched them throw the ball around, slightly feeling like a mom, but she was happy that Peridot was moving around. It was the most energy Lapis had ever seen her give out. Little by little, that Peridot was coming back out.

* * *

**Highschool Sophomore Year**

* * *

“C’mon, Peridot! You can do this!” Lapis had the prosthetic leg in front of her girlfriend, “You can’t sit in that chair all day!”  
Peridot looked down and tried to shrink back in her wheelchair, “I don’t know. What if I fall, Lapis?”  
She offered the biggest smile, “Then I’ll be there to catch you! Now c’mon! Put this on! I want to see how you’ll look!”  
Peridot inched forward and returned Lapis’ smile with her own, “Ok. Help me get this on.”  
Lapis squeezed lotion into her hands, “Are you alright with me covering your leg with this?”  
The blonde patient nodded and Lapis covered every part of her leg with the gel, “It feels weird. Really weird.”  
“Why because I’m right next to your no-no regions?” Lapis jested.  
“Please don’t call it that,” Peridot blushed through her frown.  
“Well, I already lotioned up what the doctor told me to do, so let’s get this thing on ya!”  
Peridot and Lapis fitted the suction device over Peridot’s amputated leg, sealing it inside. They fitted the leg part onto the suction cup, and once again, Peridot was a woman on two legs.  
“Now c’mon. Let’s get you moving,” Lapis held her hand open to Peridot.  
It wasn’t to pull her up, no it was the first stepping stone Peridot made to start walking. She pulled herself out of that chair and took her first step with her right foot, though she could feel the metal inside of her. She moved the metal leg out of the wheelchair and even with her other leg, almost falling over if Lapis didn’t catch her. Perido balanced her weight and she stood next Lapis. She looked up to her girlfriend and hugged her with both arms wrapped around Lapis.  
“Thank you. Thank you for helping me,”  
Lapis wrapped her own arms around her girlfriend, “You’re welcome, Peridot. You’re so welcome,” she tightened her hug on those words.

* * *

Lapis flipped through old pictures of herself and Peridot. She placed a lot of value on pictures of herself and her friends, and every time she got a new phone, she would redownload every picture of Peridot. She’d always joke to people who asked why she had so many pictures of the blonde gaymer with, “I’m gay for her.”  
She drifted her eyes back and forth from her phone to Peridot and Jasper shooting the shit underneath a tree, “You know if I were in a shitty soap opera or a fanfiction, I’d be really jealous of all the attention that thicc bih is getting from my gremlin, but thankfully I am in neither, so I’m cool with it,” Lapis scrolled through some more pictures of her girlfriend as she muttered, “Don’t know why I’m thinking out loud or talking to myself, but whatever I guess.”  
Out of the blue, Lapis received a text message from her coach, one she wasn’t sure how to properly process it. One that turned Lapis’ mood completely around, but it was a text she was not going to go over at the moment. She looked up at the sky and closed her eyes, “Let’s enjoy this for now.”

* * *

After a half hour of football tossing, Peridot was completely wiped out from all of the newfound exercising, and was panting on the grass, “Oh crap, that was,” she took several short breaths, “Intense.”  
“We just threw a ball at each other,” Jasper said, without even a hint of sweat. She felt her phone vibrate and read a text, “Well it looks like my friends are calling me back, Peridot,” she kneeled down and hugged the sweaty girl, “I really missed you.”  
“Same here. Are you gonna be living in town?”  
“No, I’m just here to hang out with friends. We’re gonna be going out for dinner and then heading back to the dorms,” she explained, “But, I think we should get together and hang out!”  
“Definitely! I’m just glad to see you again,” she smiled at her, “I should get back to my girlfriend, though. She’s just been sitting there for a while.”  
“Yeah that’s cool. Anyway, I’ll see you sometime! You have my number right?” Jasper asked as she started to run back to her group of friends.  
“Yep! See you around!” she waved to her old friend. With her gone, Peridot returned to Lapis and sat down next to her, “Exercising is rough.”  
Lapis let the young girl lean against her, “Then let’s enjoy this lazy day.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jasper the cheeto puff has appeared! YEAH YUH! 
> 
> Just an easy going chapter. Shoulda been here sooner but Stardew Valley has taken over my life. That game is more addicting than crack. I'm trying to romance Maru.
> 
> If anyone is curious, this chapter takes place in Brackenridge Park in San Antonio. That might narrow down what university Lapis goes to, or it might not! I originally had the Riverwalk in mind but there's like, no college near there so I chose this one. Takes place on the same river so whatevs!
> 
> Anyway, I have something cool planned next chapter involving Lars and some certain friends he has. See y'all later!


	19. Chapter 19

**College Freshman Year Second Semester**

* * *

Another Wednesday morning and Peridot was on her feet, walking on a sidewalk that cut through the fields of the university Lapis was at. She felt the strain in her leg from her prosthetic and rocked her head back, letting the hot Texas sun shine her pale face, “I really need to hit up the DMV. I can’t keep taking the bus everywhere.”  
By the time she moved her head back, she was a few inches from bumping into a student walking in her direction, but still pretended that they collided anyway, “Hey! Would you watch it! I’m walking here!”  
“I didn’t even hit you, you clod!” she retorted with her signature insult which has only been used twice in this whole story.  
The man she did not run into got a better look at the girl, and Peridot got a good look at him, “Hey wait a second. You’re that girlfriend of Lapis, right?” he snapped his fingers a few times, “Perry?”  
“Peridot. You’re that drummer from Metallica, aren’t ‘cha?” she jested.  
Lars was not amused, “Ha. Ha. Ha. Like I’ve never heard that one before. So what are you doing here?”  
“Obviously to talk to the wonderful members of the student body,”  
“Hoho! A million comedians out of a job and you’re trying to be one,” he made fun of her snarking, “Let me guess, you’re here to see Lapis?”  
“I mean, why else would I be here?”  
“Now c’mon, you can make fun of me but don’t make fun of the school. But Lapis is doing something with Sadie. Not sure what, because they locked me out and Sadie won’t answer my texts,” Lars explained as he looked over Peridot, “You’re into nerdy stuff, right?”  
She raised an eyebrow, looking down at her shirt with Kite from .hack on it, “You’re one hell of a detective. Why do you ask?”  
Lars walked towards the library and beckoned for Peridot to follow. She groaned but walked after him anyway, “So I’m a part of this, group and we’re short one person for our meetup today. Usually Sadie joins up with us but she’s busy doing something with Lapis. We’re were gonna go with less than one person today but, I figured you might be into what our group is about and would want to join up.”  
Peridot noticed he was tiptoeing around the main subject of his proposition, “What is this group about? Is it something too nerdy even for me?”  
Lars shrugged, “Are you nerdy enough for Dungeons and Dragons?”  
“Never played. Which is weird considering all of the RPGs I’ve played,”  
“Want to try it out?”

* * *

Lars had led Peridot across the campus to a room in the science building the D&D Club had reserved for three hours. Inside was a normal classroom that the six people inside had arranged for a roundtable discussion. Peridot’s eyes glazed to each of them, and the first one she saw was a relatively huge, elderly woman with white hair, glasses over her wrinkly eyes, and wearing a necklace of six gems. Then to a pair of identical women that initially, Peridot swore were conjoined, but apparently, according to Lars, they liked to sit in the same chair and very close to each other to mess with people, making them think they were conjoined. Both of them seemed to be slightly older than Peridot and Lars, had tanned-dark skin and were of Yemeni descent, with one wearing a Hijab for her beliefs and the other not, because she was an atheist.  
Peridot noticed a very nervous woman that looked like she was entering her thirties, with a large afro, and light-dark skin. Right next to her was a smaller lady with peach colored skin and hair almost covering her eyes, all with the biggest smile on her face. But the lady Peridot was most impressed with was the one sitting at the head of the table. She had a massive head of hair that had a hint of green coloring to it, and wore a green emerald on her right middle finger ring.  
“Whuddup,guys! I brought the missing wheel we needed,” Lars greeted his friends.  
“It seems you’ve brought a novice at our favorite passtime! You should very well know that-  
“Emerald, we haven’t started yet. Calm down,” one of the twins told the over the top lady.  
“Yeah, she’s a noob, but I think she can pick things up pretty quick. Anyway! Peridot, let me introduce you to everyone. The green lady is Emerald, she’s our DM,”  
She closed her eyes and stated, “I do not have the patience for your simple acronyms. I will be addressed as Dungeon Master or I will-  
“Hush now, child. You must be calm or no one will take you seriously,” the old woman offered Emerald a cookie.  
As Emerald ate the warm piece of confectionary goodness, Lars introduced the kind old woman, “And here is Fluorite. Not Fluoride, Fluorite. She’s the nicest woman you’ll ever meet, and her cookies are more addicting than heroin.”  
She smiled and offered a cookie to Peridot, “That’s because I put heroin in my cookies.”  
For a good five seconds, everyone in the room stared at her with great concern, not sure if they should finish eating the cookies or throw them out, “Ha, ha, ha. Just kidding. They’re made with love.”  
“Oh for the love of god, Fluorite, don’t joke about something like that! You know how paranoid I am about drugs being slipped into my food and drink, oh god, I’m gonna have to check everything now, oh no, oh no,” the woman with the afro fretted and stuttered nervously.  
“That’s Rhodonite. Hey, you’re not getting drugged, Rhodonite. She was just joking,” Lars tried to calm her down.  
“Right, right, right. Jus.... joking, heheheh,”  
“She can be a little,” the twin with hijab started.  
“On edge sometimes,” the twin without the hijab added.  
“But after awhile,”  
“She becomes a bit friendlier,”  
“And she grows on you,” they spoke in unison.  
“WHAT THE HECK THAT SOUNDED TOO GOOD TO BE REHEARSED!”  
“Jokes on you it was. My name is Silvia Rutile,” the twin with the hijab introduced herself.  
“And I’m Robina Rutile. Everyone here calls us the Rutile Twins,”  
Lars snapped his fingers at them and remarked, “Bingo bongo! And lastly we have Padparadscha. Try saying that three times fast.”  
“I am the bard!” she cheered.  
All eyes were on Peridot now, and the young woman froze up a little with so many unfamiliar faces on her. In another similar situation, she’d try to find the most familiar face to latch onto to give herself a confidence boost, usually Lapis or a family member she knew, but right then all she had was Lars, and even then he was just some guy she knew very little of. So she took a deep breath and blurted out, “I’m Peridot Olivine. Sounds French, but trust me it’s Irish. Um, I’ve never played D&D, but I love RPGs so I hope that I do pretty well with this.”  
“Hey, man. We don’t bite,” Robina stated.  
“It’s all good,” Fluorite nodded, “It is just a game. Now let’s play, bitches,”  
“YEAH! Lars cheered, “So Emerald, what do you have in store for us today?” he asked while cracking open a cold one with the girls.  
She had her arms crossed and her eyes closed, “Well if you must ask. Nothing too special, just a dungeon that needs clearing. Might be some jewels, like an emerald. Heh heh,” her over the top facade disappeared for a sentence but soon resurfaced, “Though I hear there’s a Warlock down there preparing to transform himself into a Lich. And if he isn’t stopped, then the whole village nearby will be transformed into zombies! HAHAHA!”  
“NOT ZOMBIES! ANYTHING BUT THAT!” Rhodonite panicked and at this point Peridot was wondering if this lady had a problem or if it was just an act.  
“Then it’s settled! We need to take care of that warlock!” Lars declared.  
Peridot sat at the table and looked at the paper handed to her by Emerald, that was evidently her character sheet, “So what kinda character should I roll as?”  
“A bard!” Padparadscha suggested gleefully.  
“Whatever you feel like. It’s your first D&D session, so you can pick whatever you want,” Fluorite smiled at the young woman, “Now let’s go, bitches.”

* * *

In the boonies of Texas, sombreromoustache sat cross-legged on a chair in front of a fireplace next to a plate of cookies, “Hello everyone. The rest of this chapter is going to take place in a fantasy world to simulate what Dungeons and Dragons players imagine what they play. And for continuity’s sake, as well as my own sanity, the characters will use their actual names rather than made-up names. I hope you enjoy it,” he smiled at the audience and reached for a cookie, “Gosh, Fluorite these cookies are delicious.”  
The canon Fluorite lumbered over to the writer and slowly muttered, “No, problem. Thank you.”

* * *

**The Fantastical Land of Yarhorna**

* * *

In a dark corner of an inn, a legendary pirate known for taking on the navies of kingdoms sat at a table with his own entourage. He stabbed a knife into the table and reached for a mug full of stout, “So I heard you had a problem with a warlock.”  
The village leader, a stocky old man in a robe was practically on his knees, “Yes please! We need your help! He’s on the verge of transforming himself into a lich, and we can’t handle that! Please!”  
“No problem. We can handle this warlock,” a holy blade stabbed through the table.  
“As long as we keep all of the spoils,” a black blade also stabbed through the table.  
“Then, my friends, we’re gonna take on this warlock! By the end of the night, he will be at my blade!” Lars, the Captain of the Sun Incinerator declared while raising his cutlass.  
An old woman in a warrior’s gi brought her firsts together, “No zombies on my watch.”  
A figure stepped up, pulling the two blades out of the table, “Though we fight for different sides of our church.”  
“We shall protect the villagers,” a pair of conjoined twins, one in a Paladin’s armor, and one in armor for a Dark Knight stood up from the table.  
A smaller woman carrying a lyre and had a big smile on her face, “I shall tell a great song of our adventures when we return!”  
The wizard took off her hood and her teeth were chattering, “I hope we return, but... I have to fulfill my duty.”  
And finally, a simple cleric was standing next to them awkwardly, “Um, I’m also here.”  
“And we’re off! C’mon! Let’s take care of that warlock!” Lars ordered and his entourage left the inn towards the nearby dungeon.

* * *

Peridot followed the group she had found herself roped into through the plains of the nearby town, walking by the ideal-opposed conjoined twins, “So one of you is a paladin, and the other is a dark knight. How does that work?”  
“Poorly,” Robina the Paladin answered.  
“Uh huh. So what’s gonna be my role in this group?”  
Lars turned his back to their forward direction, “Well you’re a cleric, so you can be about hitting enemies hard with magic or you can be about healing. For a while, Rhodonite was our healer, but I think it’s best while you’re figuring things out to be a healer.”  
“Most healers are in the back lines, so when you see any of us getting hurt, make sure you do a quick heal spell,” Rhodonite explained.  
“Ok, so I’ve got this sword. Is it good for anything?” Peridot asked while she examined the blade.  
“DON’T SWING THAT SO CLOSE TO ME! FRIENDLY FIRE IS A VERY REAL THING!” Rhodonite panicked.  
“You’ve got a decent strength level so when you’re face to face with an enemy, you should be able to defend yourself,” Silvia explained.  
Peridot nodded and for a while the group walked across the fields until they came across ruins, with a staircase leading deep underground. On a small tablet just above the entrance, it read, “If Thou Enters, then Thou Will Perish.”  
“What kind of lame warning is this?” Lars mocked the unoriginal warning, “C’mon, guys! We’ve got a wizard to kill!”  
Peridot found herself enjoying the journey they were going on, finding it to be a bit more dialogue heavy, yet they weren’t talking about their day. They were talking about their lives as if they were the character, with Lars going on about an adventure he had where he was able to take on an entire fleet of Empire Vessels with his own ship. Another story switched to Silvia reliving a tale of how she vanquished a heretic that had been terrorizing the land, while her sister attempted to get more gold out of their services. She almost broke character several times listening to them banter with each other over whether being a paladin or a dark knight was better.  
But one thing she found oddly surprising was a lack of combat, and for a full thirty minutes, Emerald did not announce any fights they had to do. In fact, Lars led the group around the possible fights to avoid a battle. He reasoned that they should always save their strength for the final boss or for a very strong encounter that Emerald had up her sleeve. Though apparently, Emerald telegraphed these strong encounters very obviously through her narration. It was just that Lars had a history of DMs that quote on quote, “Forced him through hell,” with their encounters.  
In-game Peridot walked like Sora from Kingdom Hearts usually does, with her arms behind her her head. She contemplated if she should have made her character have a prosthetic leg but thought it was a little too late to write that into her character.  
Fluorite stopped the group and examined the ground, “Let me feel out this tunnel,” she raised her fist and punched the stone floor, the impact echoing around the entire underground structure. Fluorite rose from the ground and pointed ahead, “We have a cyclops in the next room.”  
Lars drew his cutlass and pointed forward, “Then there’s no avoiding it. What else can you tell us about the creature.”  
“Rhodonite and Padparadscha are gonna die to it,” she joked.  
“WHAT!?”  
“Happy day!” they reacted in very different ways.  
She laughed a little before answering, “It’s just a simple cyclops. Just need to keep our distance and hit it hard.”  
“She’s right. We need to make a plan. Me and the twins will take on the cyclops head on while Fluorite, you and Rhodonite flank the thing from behind and knock it down so we can finish it off. Peridot, I’ll need you to stay away from the fight and cast a healing spell whenever you see anyone of us in trouble. Capiche?”  
“Uh, sure, but, what if the cyclops gets close to me?” Peridot asked.  
The twins drew their swords and uttered, “It won’t.”  
The other members of the party stared at the twins with a bit of concern in their eyes. But Lars ignored their attempts at intimidation and snapped his fingers, “Bingo Bongo! Let’s go and take this one-eyed monster.”  
“This won’t be the first time I’ve taken on a one-eyed monster,” Fluorite muttered with a smug grin on her face.  
“Gross,” was all Rhodonite could respond with.  
The party entered the large arena where they saw the cyclops had been waiting for them. It was a huge beast wearing only a loincloth, so if there was a gust of wind, they were going to see everything he had to offer. Other than that, a single eye, pretty big and fat, and it was about fifteen feet tall or five meters for you guys across the pond.  
As with all RPG enemies and bosses, the cyclops got fucking pissed when it saw the party, and charged toward them.  
Lars and the Twins were unfettered, “Alright, guys, remember our plan!” He drew his cutlass and rushed towards the eyed-behemoth. The cyclops raised its club and brought it down on the pirate, who had dodged and slashed the giant’s arm.  
The Rutile Twins ran up to the cyclops with both of their swords raised and stabbed it through its legs. As with everyone in this world, the cyclops did not take kindly to having not one, but two swords penetrating its precious leg, and proceeded to kick the pair of the conjoined twins across the arena.  
Peridot saw the twins and immediately rushed to their aid. She kneeled down and looked through her notes, “Ok, so if I enchant this and do this, and that, oh wait what about this, then,” she fidgeted and murmured to herself, trying to find the proper healing spell.  
The Twins looked at each other, “We’re about to black out, so we could really use that healing spell, Peridot,” Robina urged the inexperienced Cleric.  
“Ahah! Here’s the healing spell!” and Peridot proceeded to cast the spell on the Twins.  
Rhodonite heard the spell and screamed in terror, “WAIT PERIDOT! THAT’S NOT A HEALING SPELL! THAT’S A-  
The Rutile Twins begun to transform and grow into a two headed dragon. The remaining non-dragon warriors along with the cyclops could only stare in horror as its transformation finished.  
“I didn’t know Clerics knew transformation spells,” Fluorite mused.  
“They don’t,” Rhodonite answered.  
The dragon approached the center of the arena and sniffed the cyclops. For a brief moment, the cyclops had gained its composure and lifted its club to strike at the transformed beast. It struck Silvia’s head, affecting the dragon like a how a fly lands on your finger. In comparison, the way that the Rutile Dragon swatted the cyclops with their claw is how you would swat a fly.  
“Peridot. How did you do that? I mean, you transformed the Twins into a dragon! For all intents and purposes you shouldn’t have been able to do that!” Lars demanded.  
And she shouldn’t have. The actual chance of Peridot succeeding at transforming the Twins was less than a quarter of one percent. Somehow it worked.  
But unfortunately this meant they now had to deal with a two-headed dragon that was pretty freakin’ pissed. And the dragon started breathing fire all over the place and started to rampage in the arena.  
Lars slumped over and sighed, “All of the preparation, all of the careful planning. And we’re gonna die to a dragon.”  
Fluorite came over and patted him on the back, “Hasn’t been the worst way we’ve died before.”  
The group noticed the floor was beginning to crumble underneath them and Peridot asked Rhodonite, “Don’t suppose you know any spells that involve flying or floating?”  
The wizard looked through her book of spells and shook her head no as the floor began to crumble, taking them down into an abyss.

* * *

In his own laboratory, the target of their quest was experimenting with many different concoctions. He mused to himself, muttering, “Today is the big day! I have a devised an ingenious plan to rule the land. If the nearby village gets demolished in the process, oh well! Hee hee hee. With this potion, I shall transform myself into a lich, and then I shall raise an army of zombies to reek mayhem and destruction at my command!”  
The warlock looked through his notes for the potion, “One last item on the checklist. Am I a genius? The answer yes, ok drinking the potion!” though for some reason the entire structure seemed to be going through an earthquake, “Why did I put my fortress underground? Shouldn’t that be the biggest problem with a dungeon?”  
Through the ceiling, the Rutile Dragon and Lars’ Group of Adventurers crashed onto his laboratory, safely landing on the dragon, “Another happy landing,” Peridot lamented.  
Lars got up and dusted himself from the dirt and approached the warlock, “So are we going to do this the hard way or the easy way?”  
“You fools! You destroyed my lab!” he pointed to a group of labradors that had been freed by the crash, “And you destroyed my laboratory!” he reached for his sword and wand and started sparring with the pirate, “YOU! YOU DESTROYED EVERYTHING, LARS!”  
“I’m glad your years of wizardry have improved your deduction skills, Sheldon,” Lars rebutted, blocking the angry barrage of attacks from the angry Warlock named Sheldon.  
“Sheldon? What kinda name for a warlock is Sheldon?” Peridot asked the most important questions  
Sheldon and Lars faced each other as they traded blows, with Lars clearly standing a better chance against his opponent, “C’mon, Sheldon. Can you at least give me a challenge before I defeat you?”  
Sheldon the Warlock cast a spell on his sword, covering it in a veil of deathly gas, “Laugh while you can, Lars. I will have you and your men quivering like children!”  
“Oh please. Out of everyone in this room, there’s only one ding dong, and I’m still more of a man than you!”  
“Good one, Lars!” Fluorite cheered for her leader.

* * *

“So what did you want to talk about?” Sadie asked her roommate, “You asked me to skip out on D&D today so it must be important.”  
Lapis sat down on their couch, head leaning back and looking at a text her coach had sent her, “I needed someone to rant to, just to get it out of my system. Sorry about using you like this,” she apologized as she cracked open a cold one from the fridge, and handing another to the blonde.  
“It’s alright. Always good to have someone to rant to that’s not Lars,” she sipped her drink and turned her head to Lapis, “So what did you want to talk about?”  
“Coach texted me a week ago. She said I was handpicked for this swim tour. Supposed to go around Texas for all of Summer competing in diving meets. Just placing in one of these meets will get me a scholarship. God knows I still need them for this school,”  
Sadie sat confused at Lapis’ statement, “This sounds great! I don’t get what the problem is.”  
The blue-haired girl opened up a picture of Peridot standing on her bed with a torn picture of Lapis’ Camp Pining Hearts OTP after a penultimate episode that had sunk her ship, “This, is the problem.”  
“Oh shit. That’s right,”  
“Now you’re seeing the full picture. Fuck, what am I gonna do about her? Or hell, how am I gonna break it to her that I’m not gonna be with her for two months?”  
A few moments passed by and neither had a good enough answer to give each other, “Well shit,” Sadie summed up the situation, “Do you think she’ll be alright on her own? I mean, you guys can text each other.”  
Lapis looked at Sadie dead in the eye with a face that has seen everything, “Trust me, Miller. That won’t work,” she rested her head back stared at the ceiling, “I really need those scholarships, but, I don’t think she can handle that much time without me. Not trying to sound like a narcissist, but I know how Peridot works.”  
The sound of a vibration from Sadie’s pants was heard, and the blonde looked at the new message, “Speak of the gremlin, apparently Lars replaced me with your girlfriend for tonight’s D&D session. They’re doing a little one-shot with a warlock named Sheldon.”  
“She didn’t tell me she wanted to hang out, huh. And she’s hanging out with Lars? I never figured that they would hit it off. How long are they gonna do that D&D stuff?”  
“Apparently they’re starting a whole new roleplay after they took care of the warlock,. I guess she really fit into the group,” Sadie reported to Lapis, “So you know what that means!”  
Lapis smiled thinking exactly what the blonde was thinking, “Oh yeah.”  
They turned on a trashy anime filled with tits; Monster Musume. Aka, the best anime.

* * *

“I roll for healing and I heal Lars for six-hundred health!” Peridot declared as they were fighting a group of goblins.  
“Thanks, Peridot! Now let’s try that plan again, Twins!” he ordered, and he and the twins in game stood back to back and cut down every one of their green adversaries.  
“You were able to successfully destroy every single of of the wretched goblins, finding two thousand pieces of gold amongst their corpses,” Emerald narrated to them.  
“And with that cash we can finally get some new gear!” Rhodonite cheered.  
“Let’s head to the next town and stop for the night,” Fluorite suggested, “Jeopardy is on in an hour and I’m not missing that for anything.”  
Emerald nodded, “Then you guys just end up there. I do not have any encounters planned.”  
“Slightly unbelievable that you didn’t have one encounter planned, but tonight was one hell of a night,” Silvia admitted.  
“No kidding, but thanks to Peridot, we were able to get through that dungeon, give Sheldon a wedgie, and now we’re going to marry dragon-knights,” Lars summarized their adventure.  
“Peridot you should come to our next session!” Rhodonite invited her.  
“Yes, I admire how well you carry yourself in battle. And our shared love for green,” Emerald thought out loud.  
Peridot was unsure how to process that compliment but nodded to the DM, “Yeah! This was a lot of fun, I never thought I would enjoy playing D&D,” she looked at all of the friendly faces at her, a feeling inside of her that was beginning to overwhelm her, “I would love to keep playing with you guys again, and I’m pretty much free every day so I’ll definitely be here next week!”  
“Same here, Peridot! Hey you want our numbers?” Robina asked.  
“Yeah, we’d love to hang with you,” Silvia offered.  
Before Peridot even knew it, she was exchanging numbers with the Rutile Twins and the rest of the D&D group, even Padparadscha, whom this fanfiction had forgotten had existed.  
Peridot looked at her contact list, now filled with numbers as opposed to before where there was only Lapis and her parents, “So this is what it’s like to use a phone,” she said while scrolling through the names three times over. As she did, her eyes glanced up to the phone’s clock and her eyes nearly bulged out of her head, “Oh shit! I missed the bus!”  
“What happened?” Lars asked.  
“I missed it! The one that takes me to my place doesn’t show up until tomorrow. Ugh, the next one that shows up and the route it takes me to another bus stop so it’s gonna take an hour longer than-  
“Let’s go,” he said, twirling his keys in his hands.  
“What? No, I don’t want to be a bother to you, Lars, and-  
“You don’t need to be waiting there all night for a bus. See you guys later!”  
“Later, Lars!” they called back to him, and they went about their business to return to their lives.

* * *

The ride with Lars was relatively uneventful, with Lars playing some Foo Fighters and other alternative music, not saying a word. Peridot stared out of the window at the nightlife of the city, “Thanks for giving me a ride, Lars.”  
“Don’t mention it, I think I owe you a few favors for helping out with today’s session. Thanks again for playing with us,” he said as he turned off the highway into an access road.  
“No problem. I’m glad I ran into you,” Peridot pulled out her phone and started texting, “I should text Lapis about hanging out later this week.”  
Lars smiled slightly, “That Lapis, she really cares about ya. I swear every few minutes she brings up some story about how you got on stage and sang for her, and another time when you both snuck into a gym teacher’s office to put posters of yaoi on the wall.”  
“Oh yeah! That was great, man we got into so much trouble after that,” she smiled, thinking about how shit fury on their gym class, trying to find out who did it to him while she and Lapis just laughed in the back of the bleachers, “I wish we could spend more time together. I’m kinda jealous what you and Sadie have where you both work together and hang out all the time.”  
Lars turned to his passenger with an awkward face and the highest an eyebrow could be raised, “Me and Sadie aren’t dating.”  
This turned Peridot from feeling a warmth in her heart to an overwhelming awkwardness that she was very familiar with, “Oh. Um, I’m uh. Ah, uh, I-  
“It’s fine. We’re not dating, just, you know we’ll talk about this later, if you don’t mine,” Lars ended that trainwreck, “Anyway, is your house on this road?”  
“Yeah, again thanks for the lift,”  
Lars parked in front of Peridot’s house and unlocked the car door, “Next D&D session is next week. I hope to see you there, Peridot.”  
“Definitely, and hey save some donuts for me!” she shot back as she got out of his car.  
“No promises!” he called out as he drove to parts unknown.  
Peridot walked into her house where her parents were asleep in their room. She went into her room and suddenly realized just how tired she was. She undressed herself into a t shirt and a pair of shorts with green aliens all over it, and just before going to bed she unattached her prosthetic leg.  
On some nights she would feel a pain that wasn’t there, and she would sit still, feeling that pain, waiting for it to go away until she finally went to sleep. She could feel that pain right then, but as she thought more and more of the time she spent with Paparadicha, Rhodonite, Emerald, Fluorite, Silvia and Robina Rutile, and Lars, she couldn’t help but smile and cry.  
“Why am I crying, I, I just had a great day, but,” her tears soaked her bedsheets and she couldn’t spit out the words. But with every tear that fell from her face, the pain that wasn’t there, slowly went away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So first off, special thanks to Dement09 for recommending Peridot be a cleric. Not really well-versed in D&D and I had no idea what to make Peri. Also if it wasn't obvious, I've never played D&D, lol. Of all the nerdy things I do, that's just the one thing I haven't. 
> 
> Also, this chapter is beyond 40K words! Meaning that it's beyond Novel length! How exciting! We have a few more chapters to go before the end, and I have plans for this fic to be 26 chapters long, but it might be done before then. Who knows? 
> 
> And oh my, Lapis might leave Peridot alone for an entire summer! What could this mean?! What are the consequences? Find out next time. 
> 
> Btw, Centorea and Rachnera are the best Monster Musume girls. Do not @ me.


	20. Chapter 20

**College - Freshman Year Second Semester**

* * *

Lapis and Sadie were sitting in a teacherless classroom, attempting to pass the time with gifs of their shared OTP for Camp Pining Hearts, among other garbage ships for the trash anime and Netflix shows they binged when they should’ve been studying. Every Tuesday and Thursday would play out the same with their teacher being late as always to her own class.  
It made you wonder how she was even able to hold down the job when she never showed up on time, but apparently when you were a doctor in algebra, you were allowed to do whatever the hell you wanted.  
“So the next few episodes of Camp Pining Hearts have some scenes that were leaked and,” Sadie winked at her trash friend.  
“Don’t tell me, oh god, Sadie don’t hold me out like this,”  
“We’re getting new Paulcy scenes,” Sadie and Lapis had the reaction one would have if they had trekked through the Sahara for three days without water and had founded an oasis filled with water and bikini babes.  
Lapis was on the verge of tears for her ship, “I’ve given so much and now I’m finally going to receive!” she looked at Sadie’s phone at the leaks, “But man, thank god. We’ve been getting waay too much Pierrcy.”  
“I know right! But you know the Pierrcy shippers are gonna be pissed and call Paulcy abusive, like they always do,”  
“Oh god, how much you wanna bet someone’s made this big post on tumblr?”  
“Already got an anon,” Sadie sighed, “The price we pay for being pure Paulcy shippers.”  
“I wouldn’t call either of us pure, especially after reading the fanfics you’ve written,”  
“And the fanart you’ve drawn,” she remembered that one piece of art featuring Paulette. Their friendship was never the same again.  
The door to their class opened, and out came the fashionably late Algebra teacher, Dr. Diana Amethyst, “‘Sup, Fam! Sorry I’m late, got caught in traffic again! You don’t know how much of a bitch it is to come from Military Drive during rush hour, but enough about me!” she dropped her bag on her chair and pulled out the dry erase markers, “Anyways, pull out your notes and let’s get this show on the road! Where did we leave off from last class?”

* * *

It was an odd paradox with Amethyst. Everyday Lapis and Sadie showed up to class, they hated how late she would show up and planned to give her so much shit for always showing up late, but damn was she good at her job, and she might have been the first math teacher that they’ve ever had where she was able to make sense of the material and actually have her students retain the equations.  
Lapis was never skilled at math and had gotten by in highschool and in some of her college courses by the skin of her teeth, but after a few classes, she was finally able to grasp concepts she never would have gotten with another teacher. And for once she was raising her hand to answer questions Amethyst asked.  
“And so if you carry 2X to the power of B squared then you’re able to, oh well shit. Sorry, class! We’re out of time!” she dropped the dry erase marker and waved to her class, “I’ll see you all next week! Make sure you do your tests, and try to avoid taking the test just before midnight because I can tell when you’re logging in, and trust me, I will judge you.”  
“Just like how we judge you for coming in late every single day?” the same student who kept calling her out every day yelled.  
Amethyst’s eyes were wide open, her soul slipping out from the sheer amount of truth in that statement, “Uhhhh, have a good weekend bye!”  
The class left her room, and as she gathered her belongings she pulled her phone out and dialed her favorite lady on campus, “Heyy, Pearl! How ya doin?!”  
On the other side of campus, the swim coach was dressing out of casual into her swimsuit listening to some chill ska on her phone. She was pulling the swimsuit onto her shoulders when her phone started playing a rap song that her new girlfriend had installed and made that whenever she called, that song would play.  
Pearl answered her phone, “Amethyst you know you can visit me whenever you like, or at least shoot me an email.”  
“Yeah I could, but I like to think of this phone as my personal ‘Hear Pearl’s Voice Anywhere’ Machine,” that was by far the lamest joke Amethyst ever made, “Anyway, I want to confirm about our plans for tomorrow.”  
Pearl felt her left arm and her eyes fell a little solemn, “Yeah, I, I’m free, I’m just a little,” she stopped to look down at the photo of her and Rose on her desk, “Nervous is all.”  
Amethyst laughed in the phone’s microphone, “Aw, don’t be nervous, P. Mi familia are gonna love you,” she came up with an even lamer flirt, “But definitely no tanto como yo,” she whispered in a flirtatious voice before hanging up.  
Unfortunately for her, her flirt fell on deaf ears as when she hung up, Pearl had to look up what she was saying on google translate, and couldn’t find out the proper meaning as she misheard what Amethyst had said, “Whatever you say, Amethyst.”  
She and Amethyst had been dating for only a short while, and though she was greatly enjoying all of the lunches and laughs they had spent together and even felt herself attracted to Amethyst both physically and emotionally, but yet. There was still a part of her that was in love with Rose Quartz.  
“It’s over, isn’t it? It’s already done, now I’ve got to be there for her son,” she mused to herself, thinking of the time she spent up north.

* * *

**14 Years Ago**

* * *

The screaming and pain was over, and a new life had been born into the world, and his father held him close as he cried, “He’s beautiful, Rose.”  
The mother beckoned to her lover, “Bring him here, Greg. I want to see him,” her voice drained, and yet still filled with the love that she had for everyone she came across.  
He brought their son to her, “Ain’t he the cutest? I think he has your eyes.”  
Pearl looked down at their son and couldn’t help but smile, “But he has your face, Greg.”  
He chuckled, “Well I hope not. He doesn’t need this ugly mug,” he joked with Rose.  
“I’m glad I got to meet our little Steven,” she rubbed her child’s head, “And I’m glad that I spent the happiest moment of my life, with the two people I love the most in this world.”  
Neither of them noticed the color fading from her face.

* * *

A tear fell from her face, but she wiped it away, “No more tears for her, Aragonite. You’ve already cried for her enough,” she looked at the picture taken almost two decades ago, and placed the photo face down.

During that part of the year in this part of Texas was when daylight savings started, and so the sun would hang out until 8:30, and even until 9:00, making an even hotter day that much hotter. It never made much sense to Pearl why they needed Daylight savings time considering that it ended up being 95 degrees on most days, so you’d think that you want the sun to go down earlier for some cooler weather. Relatively cooler weather, as seventy-eight was still considered miserably hot for other people.  
But as the sun was still hanging low over an orange sky, Pearl found herself waiting wearing a pair of jeans and a white blouse with a blue long sleeve overshirt, sitting on the curb of the road outside of her apartment building. She was looking down at her phone scrolling through a random social media app looking through pictures of flowers, trying to pass the time for when Amethyst would pick her up.  
She quickly found out that her girlfriend tended to take her time when she was going anywhere, but yet it was always ten minutes late. She didn’t know if it was due to poor timing, traffic, or if Amethyst just waited last minute, but she was always late, “I guess I know what Lazuli is always complaining about with the other girls,” she talked to herself, favoriting a bouquet of roses and bookmarking a set of violets in a vase.  
After catching up on her timeline she heard the familiar sound of a revving engine coming closer. She knew exactly who it was coming down on her street and rose up from her concrete seat, waiting for her chariot. The beat-up sedan rolled up in front of Pearl’s apartment building, and Amethyst was eyeing her girlfriend as she rolled down the window.  
“Damn! Your ass looks like a water buffalo!” she called out to Pearl.  
While Amethyst had said the line as a joke, Pearl had taken her completely seriously and looked behind herself at her own butt, “What? Are you serious?! I knew I shouldn’t have eaten that lasagna last night!”  
Amethyst laughed at her antics, and Pearl quickly realized what she was doing, “Nah, but you look fucking hot in that outfit!”  
“Oh, um. Thank you, Diana,” Pearl blushed and tried to hide her smile which turned into a short laugh.  
“Now get your ass in my car, Pearl!” and she watched her enter the shotgun of her car, “You might have noticed that I adjusted the seat to your liking, so you don’t have to crunch yourself up against the,” Amethyst stopped herself when Pearl pulled the seat forward so that her knees were up to her chest, “Dashboard.”  
Pearl buckled herself in and smiled at Amethyst, “Lets go! I’m excited to meet your family!”  
“Ok, but,” she saw Pearl’s smile and just threw the thoughts out of her head as she drove down the road, back to where she started.  
Amethyst didn’t say it out loud, but as they were driving along the highways, Pearl’s head blocked out the sun, and how she looked with the sun’s rays surrounding her, was awe inspiring.

* * *

The sun had nearly gone down by the time Amethyst had arrived at her home, and already the place seemed like it was getting into the swing of things, with about three cars and two trucks already parked outside a home that didn’t seem big enough to host as many people as the number of cars suggested. Pearl was wondering herself just how many people were in the house, members of the Amethyst family, and if the house was going to be standing room only.  
“Welp, let’s head on in!” she opened the shotgun door,  
“How, many people are here?” Pearl had only one question on her mind, “Is this a family reunion?  
Amethyst laughed, “This is more like our Friday night dinner. It’s when my abuela cooks for the house, and my cousins all show up for it. You’ll see what I mean when we’re inside.”  
They walked across a short lawn, and Pearl could already smell the cooking and it made her mouth water. Amethyst approached the door and held it open for her and for the sound of shattering glass to leave the house.  
“Que cojones esta haciendo?!” an older sounding woman’s yell sounded out of the house.  
“I’m trying to follow your recipe, abuela!” a younger yelled back.  
“¡Por última vez, esta fue la receta de mi abuela! ¡Y traes vergüenza a su nombre cuando destrozas los ingredientes!” the older woman barked back.  
Already Pearl was completely flabbergasted, and could only look to Amethyst for any sense of familiarity, “Is this normal?”  
She only laughed, “If it’s Julia’s wife trying to cook, then yeah.”  
In comparison to her rather simple apartment that was spacious despite being so small, this house was huge yet still felt a little cramped. The front door opened up to the the living room of the house with two main areas with the closest to the door being two black folding tables that families would use for card games, pushed together with eight chairs surrounding the makeshift long table, with mostly older women sitting on each of the chairs with a drink in front of them. On the other side of the room, surrounding a large TV arena style were three couches, two leather and one being corduroy, along with a single recliner put in front of the television. And besides the recliner, each couch had about four people sitting in them, with three others hovering around watching a football game on the TV, occasionally reacting bombastically to a play that happened in their team’s favor.  
On Pearl’s left was a hallway that went to a few doors but it seemed like no one was around there, and in contrast to her right was an entrance to the kitchen where the delicious smell of food was coming from, along with the unpleasant ringing of arguments.  
“Hey! Diana’s home!” one of the ladies at the tables noticed the open door and announced her arrival.  
On que, every voice inside the house and even a few outside went, “Welcome home!” and every person in the room turned to face the new arrival for the gathering.  
“Hey, Diana! Who’s the pretty lady you brought home?” one of the guys sitting on a couch from across the room yelled out over the noise of the TV.  
The other people in the the room noticed Pearl as well and it started to feel like a million eyes were turning towards her, and she started to shrink under all of that attention. And if everyone staring at her wasn’t making her shrink down to Amethyst’s height then it certainly would be the tidal wave of voices.  
“Oh my god, Diana! We didn’t know you had a girlfriend!”  
“It’s about time you finally got someone,”  
“Oooh! She’s una vaso de agua!”  
“¿Donde la encontraste?”  
Pearl looked down at Amethyst and asked through all of the noise, “Is this how your family always is?”  
She laughed and patted her on the back, “Believe me, this is a tradition with everyone who brings someone home. They even did it when our Abuela brought home her boyfriend,” she pointed to an old man in jeans and a hawaiian shirt, fixating his attention on the game on the television, ignoring the rest of the residents out of dedication to his sport or defiance to the noise.  
A woman about as tall as Pearl walked up to them and offered her hand to the swim coach, “Welcome to our home, hope you don’t mind our special warm welcome! My name’s Sierra Amethyst!”  
Amethyst knew what was about to come but if Sierra didn’t do what she did to every new person who came to their family, then, “Actually, what would she do? She’s always done it, and no one stops her?” Amethyst thought to herself as Sierra Amethyst pulled her in for a bear hug that lifted her off the ground and into the air.  
“Ohhp! There goes Sierra, lifting one of her familia’s dates like usual,” Pearl heard from the other side of the room.  
“Hey! Ponla abajo!” Pearl saw the older woman’s face pop out from out of the kitchen, and just as her words hit the room, Peal was already put down.  
“Sorry, Abuela!” she called to the elder of the family.  
“¡Sigue así, entonces tendrás que salir a comer!” she shouted back from the kitchen and the entire home laughed at Amethyst’s cousin.  
Pearl looked to Amethyst and asked, “So does ‘Abuela’ speak English? Or does she know what people are saying to her?”  
“Nah, she can speak it, but as long as she’s in this house, the only thing she’ll speak is Espanol,” Amethyst walked forward and raised her hand up to Sierra, “How’s it going, girl?!?  
Sierra lifted her shorter cousin off the ground for a big ‘ol bear hug, “Nothing much! Are you still driving my girl around?”  
“That carseat practically belongs to her!” Amethyst joked with her, “Where is Carnelian?”  
“She’s working an all-nighter,” a woman as tall as Sierra but skinnier than most of the people in the room answered from the table.  
“That girl is always working hard for you!” Amethyst grabbed Pearl’s hand and pulled her into the center of the room and started to introduce Pearl and her family to each other, “Ok everyone, this lady is my new girlfriend, Pearl Aragonite. She has a name almost as white as Diana!”  
The room once again burst into laughter with one voice calling out Amethyst, “Not as white as Cheryl, Diana!”  
Amethyst nudged Pearl and pointed to the woman who made the joke at the, “That there is Cheryl Amethyst, and her two sisters Maria and Lexi. They’re cousins but their parents live in El Paso,” she pointed to the group of three women sitting next to each other, pausing from their conversation to wave to Pearl, “And that’s Skinny! She’s dating Breanna, the girl sitting next to her.”  
Skinny raised her glass to Pearl, “It’s a pleasure meeting you,” her voice didn’t seem excited but she had a warm and welcoming face.  
“And of course, you just met Sierra. She’s gotta girlfriend named Carnelian and she’s almost as short as me! Can you even believe it?”  
“Hey that’s how I like ‘em! Short and thick!”  
Pearl quickly realized it didn’t take a lot to get the Amethyst family to laugh, as not only did that bit from Sierra get the people to laugh, but once they noticed that Pearl blushed from what she said, the Amethyst family laughed even harder.  
“Ok, ok. Man that got me good,” Amethyst wiped tears from her eyes and pointed to the people sitting on the couch, “Alright, Pearl, this fool over here is Diego!”  
A young man almost as tall as Pearl rose from the couch and offered his hand , “Hey, it’s glad to meet you, this is my brother Sergio!”  
A younger looking man taller than Diego stood up and also offered his hand, “My name’s Sergio, the more handsome of the two.”  
“Shut the hell up!” a young girl reprimanded him and extended her hand to Pearl, “The name is Andrea Amethyst!”  
Every person in front of the TV got up from their seat and offered their hand to Pearl after introducing themselves. Pearl saw all the hands offered to her at once and plunged in, “Hello my name is Pearl, it’s nice to meet you! Hello my name is Pearl, it’s nice to meet you!” for everyone who had stood up.  
As Pearl shook the last of the Amethyst family’s hands, one last person rose from his seat, and to the rest of the family, this was incredibly odd as when a football game was on he was going to sit in front of the TV ignoring everyone until his girlfriend yelled at him to join for dinner. But the old man in a Hawaiian got up and faced Pearl and offered his hand, “Jorge Vasquez,” he wheezed.  
“My name is Pearl Aragonite, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she shook the old man’s hand for les than half a second before he brought it back and sat back in his chair and turned back to the game.  
“C’mon, coach! What are you teaching these kids?!” he grumbled to himself, closing himself off from the rest of the Amethysts.  
“Pfft, ignore him! That’s just how he always is,” Amethyst pointed out and started leading Pearl to the backyard, “Now let’s meet the rest of the guys here!”  
“There’s more?!” Pearl asked almost exasperated.  
“Hey! Let the poor girl breath, Diane!” Sierra suggested, “You should take a seat! Want some drinks?!” she pulled out a pair of folding chairs for the pair, and offered two glass bottles of beer.  
Pearl and Amethyst took their seats and helped themselves to the drinks. Amethyst was a little surprised that Pearl was so willing to drink thinking that she wanted to remain alcohol free to keep up that swimmer’s body physique. Not that Amethyst was gonna complain, so she raised her bottle and chugged the beer.  
For the next half-hour Pearl could only play audience to the dozen conversations happening all at once. Occasionally she would partake in their gossip, but for the most part she would sit back and listen in, letting Amethyst do most of the talking for her.  
Sometimes she would hear one of her cousins asking a question about herself that she give a short answer to. Sometimes the people around the tv would scream and jump for joy until Abuela would yell at them to quiet down. And sometimes there was a smashing noise in the kitchen followed with some back and forth yelling from Abuela and the woman helping her.  
But from the little bit of Spanish Pearl knew to translate her words she could tell that Abela didn’t think the lady was of much helps.  
Pearl nudged her fellow teacher, “Amethyst, how many people are here? Are you sure this isn’t a family reunion?”  
“Ahh! Pearl you are really funny sometimes!” she joked with her before answering her question, “Nah there’s like thirty or so people here? This is far from a family reunion. Those are like, at least a hundred people!”  
Pearl slowly turned to Amethyst and turned her head in confusion “A h-hundred people? What?”  
Amethyst just shook her head, “Our Abuela has two sisters. One lives in Phoenix and the other lives in Alamogordo. Each of them had quite a number of kids, and those kids had a lot of kids too. Every five years, everyone saves up enough cash to meet up in El Paso for a few day and catch up on what’s going on. And man, it’s the sweetest thing seeing our Abuela meeting her sisters! Oh god I’m tearing up!” already Amethyst was bringing up photos of three old women sitting at a table with the biggest smiles on their faces.  
“¿Estás hablando de mí, Diana?!” the aforementioned Abuela shouted from the kitchen.  
“No, Abuela!” she answered while flipping through her pictures of the last reunion, “These are all from three years ago, but man that was one hell of a reunion!”  
“YEAH!” everyone in the room and outside on the patio agreed with Amethyst in tandem.  
Pearl looked at the photos and saw one picture of over a hundred people gathered around a set of football bleachers with the three old women sitting at the very bottom. She zoomed in on the individuals and recognized a few of them from the gathering but was looking for Amethyst in the picture.  
“What are you looking for?” Amethyst asked  
“I’m trying to look for you, but I can’t seem to find where you are in this picture. Which row were you sitting?” Pearl scrubbed through each individual face.  
“Sorry, Pearl but you’re not gonna find me in that pic!” Amethyst quipped while slipping the phone back into her pocket.  
Pearl wanted to ask her what she meant but before she could, her thoughts were interrupted by ringing of a bell. Everyone got up from where they were and started getting to work, grabbing folding chairs and tables and setting them up in the center of the room. After they were done a long table was set up with two and a half dozen chairs set around the makeshift dinner room.  
It’s always strange to see how another family goes about their day to day lives, as what they do is sometimes completely foreign to what you do at home. And in comparison to how this family handled this dinner, how Pearl and her family performed the ritual was rather tame in comparison.  
Though Pearl hadn’t eaten with her family in half a decade, so maybe they did dinner like Amethyst’s.  
With the entire dinner set and every member of Amethyst’s immediate family standing around the table, their Abuela and five of the older women present started bringing out the food. The smell was too much for Pearl to bear, even making her hungrier than she realized. The sizzling noises alone were enough to make Pearl’s mouth water.  
When all the food was set on the table with plates and food utensils, Abuela sat at the very head of the table, adjusted her glasses and grasped her hands together. Everyone followed with Pearl putting her hands together last, “Te damos gracias Señor, por estos alimentos que nos diste y por la alegría de esta hora, que este alimento nos ayude a servirte de todo corazón te lo pedimos por Jesucristo nuestro Señor amén,” her hands came apart and she gazed at the rest of her family, “Comamos.”  
In an instant the Amethyst family started passing around food, giving everyone an opportunity to have their own share of the food, though it became a common occurrence for someone to complain that another was taking a larger than normal portion of the food. Pearl watched the battle take place, unsure of how she would get some of her own food before it all disappeared.  
“Hey, Diana! What are you thinking getting food for two?!” an older sounding man called out her girlfriend.  
“I’m trying to get food for my lady!” Amethyst called back, handing Pearl a plate of steaming food, “Eat up, Pearl we got plenty of food to go around!”  
Pearl took the plate from Diana and looked down at the two enchiladas, pile of brown rice and beans mixed together. She started cutting the enchiladas into smaller pieces and took a bite out of her food. And proceeded to start coughing from the intensity of the flavor and then gulped down an entire bottle of water.  
“C’mon, lady it isn’t that spicy!” someone from across the table mocked her.  
Pearl pounded on her chest after the last of the flavor left her mouth, “Dude are you alright?” Amethyst asked.  
Pearl regained her composure and turned to her, “I don’t think I can handle spicy food.”  
Amethyst chewed through the food on her plate and downed it with water, “I don’t know what you’re talking about Pearl, this stuff isn’t spicy at all. Like it’s got a little bit of a kick to it, but it’s not that spicy.”  
“Don’t make fun of my tolerance for spicy food,” Pearl turned away from her girlfriend and took some more bites from her food, in between drowning out the flavor with water. Just like before, Pearl didn’t participate in the conversations going on at the dinner table, but she noticed how tight-nit everyone seemed. Pearl had gotten the impression that these people only got to visit on occasion, but if she didn’t know, it was like they all lived in the same home. She mused over the difference between Amethyst's family and her own. Just like Amethyst’s family, the Aragonites gathered for one dinner every week, though it was only Pearl’s immediate family. And instead of the lively, jovial festivities that went on, an Aragonite dinner was mostly silent amongst the participants while a tv was on in the background. Those vacuous conversations of the events of their days rang in her head while she observed Amethyst’s family joking with each other about anything they found funny.  
How empty she felt when her mother asked how her day was, and all she could answer was with an, “It was ok,” to hide away how hollow she felt, with a future so undefined.  
“That’s why I left,” she spoke her thoughts to no one in particular, fighting back tears.  
“Uh, Pearl? You alright?” Amethyst nudged her and asked quietly.  
No crying until the end, “I’m fine! Just got a little teary-eyed over all of this food! Gosh this is spicy!”  
“Hey! Diana’s girl! Where you from?” a younger man’s voice called from down the table.  
“Well, I’ve lived in San Antonio for a few years, but I’m originally from Boston,” Pearl answered, “Why do you ask?” she called from across the table.  
“‘Cause every white girl from here to the North Pole can’t handle any spicy food!” everyone at the table laughed at his joke, and Pearl couldn’t help but laugh along with them.  
“Pearl,” Abuela spoke through the chortles, “¿Hablas Español?”  
Everyone already knew that Pearl couldn’t speak a lick of Spanish, but Abuela was curious, “Uh. Me llamo no Español,” her inner Peggy Hill shined like a star in front of everyone, and they all burst out laughing at Pearl’s terrible Spanish.  
“That’s fine, niña,” Abuela for the first time in her life, spoke English in her own home, “May I ask, what do you do? For a living, Pearl.”  
“Well, I’ve done a lot of odd jobs in the past, but right now I’m a swim coach at one of the colleges in Alamo Heights,” she explained, “I don’t know if that will be the thing I do until I retire, but I enjoy it!”  
“Do you work with Diana?”  
“We work in the same school, but we’re kinda on the other side of the campus,” Amethyst explained, “I gotta take my car the whole way across if I wanna go see her!”  
“You drive across campus? Amethyst it’s not that long of a walk,” Pearl noted, “My swimmers do it everyday and I don’t hear them complaining. All the time,” she murmured that last part into her glass of water.  
“Puh-lease! Those are swimmers, people who are used to exercise. I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m not the kind of person who gets out or exercises a lot! My life has been taken over by algebra, and my ass is not used to walking a mile to see you!”  
“So you wouldn’t be the woman who’d walks a thousand miles to fall down my door?”  
“Uh, Pearl, I’d just drive,” Amethyst snarked back at her.  
Abuela asked Pearl another question, “When did you meet, Diana?”  
“Well remember when I got that scholarship to Boston University for astronomy? Me and her were roomates for that whole time,”  
Abuela raised her eyebrow, “Pearl, why did you come to this city? Why didn’t you stay in Boston?”  
That question brought back the memories of her old lover, who she gave up everything just to be by her side. She shook her head and smiled at the old Amethyst, “The wind brought me here.”  
Abuela gave her a wide smile, with two golden teeth shimmering in Pearl’s sight, “Como lo hizo mi Abuela.”

* * *

The dinner lasted an hour, and by then all of the food that Abuela had cooked was gone. Pearl thought for sure that there were going to be some food to take home, but every Amethyst under the roof consumed their Abuela’s food vigorously. After dinner had been adjourned everyone took part in cleaning the kitchen and dining room with the exception of Abuela and her boyfriend who watched the last quarter of the football game. Amethyst and Pearl were given the job of returning washed dishes to their respective pantries, where jokes and stories were exchanged between work. Though with over thirty people dedicated to cleaning up after a single dinner, the whole job took less than five minutes.  
Then the festivities of before resumed and more stories were told for some chuckles. After a story about how one the younger men witnessed his fellow employee wiping an ointment on his bare buttcheeks in an unlocked bathroom door, Pearl glanced at her watch and noticed how late things were getting. For her at least. When you’re a teacher, your definition of what’s late becomes earlier than your own students. Amethyst was still at a part of her life where 10:00 P.M. was still an early part of the night, so she wasn’t nearly as tired as her girlfriend, and neither was anyone else at the gathering with the exception of Abuela and her boyfriend.  
“Me voy a la cama. Buenas noches e ir a casa,” she announced to her family.  
“¡Buenas noches, Abuela!” almost in synchronization did everyone speak in unison as Abuela approached Pearl.  
“Pearl,” she came close to Pearl’s face and kissed her on both cheeks, “I’m happy to meet someone so good for Diana. You are welcome en mi casa.”  
Pearl felt overwhelmed how she was accepted with open arms with this woman and spoke very fast as a result, “Thank you! I, uh, I really don’t know what to say um, Abuela!”  
Abuela only shook her head, “Please, mi nombre es Diana. Buenas noches, Pearl Aragonite,” and with that, she retired to her bedroom.  
Amethyst nudged Pearl as she watched her Abuela leave, “Well it looks like it’s things are winding down. Want me to take you home?”  
Pearl nodded and the two left Amethyst’s home along with the rest of her family. Numerous car doors opened and closed after another and engines sprung to life, taking that part of the family to their part of the world that they cut out for themselves. None were upset to part with each other, as the certainty that they would be back together the week after was absolute.  
The drive to Pearl’s home wasn’t anything noteworthy, with both of the teachers listening to the music on Amethyst’s radio, the occasional static, and the road rage when a fellow driver wasn’t driving particularly favorably in the Algebra Professor’s eyes.  
Pearl still had what Abuela last said to her on her mind, and had to ask, “So your Abuela said her name is Diana?”  
“Huh? Oh yeah! I was named after her!” she explained while passing a slower driver on the freeway, “My Abuela was named after her Abuela too!”  
“Oh? And was her Abuela named Diana as well?”  
“No. She was named Carmen. Carmen’s daughter, Rita heard about the Roman goddess Diana and just liked that name so much she gave it to my great-great-grandmother. Funny how things work like that,” she laughed a little before going into more of her family’s history, “One of our ancestors was a part of Juan Seguin’s Rancheros and fought at San Jacinto. Hell, we still had the card he wore in his hat until Phil Collins bought it from of us.”  
“Phil Collins? The singer?” out of everything that Pearl had heard and witnessed tonight, Phil Collins buying a card from the nineteenth century off of Amethyst’s family.  
“So like, our Abuela got an email from his people asking for it ten years ago, and then a month later this old, balding British dude is just at our front door with a case of ten grande for this ancient ass card we’ve been holding onto for over a century, and just takes it to his museum in England or whatever made up land he’s from. Then like, a couple of years ago he walks up the museum at San Jacinto and just gives it to them for free,” she shook her head while laughing, “So we gotta drive three hours and pay fifteen dollars if we want to look at some card we coulda kept at our house for free.”  
Pearl nodded her head intently, “That’s, an odd story. So your family has been in Texas for a long time?”  
“Oh yeah! We’ve been here since this was Mexico! Hell, we might’ve been here since before it was Mexico! Being Tejano is in our blood, Pearl!”  
“Oh wow, I knew your family had been in this country for a long time but I didn’t think you were all here before the U.S,”  
“Not too many people do. Makes the rednecks who yell at us to go back to our country even more irritating to deal with,” Amethyst rolled her eyes.  
“Oh lord, rednecks are the bane of my existence. If there’s one reason I want to go back to Boston, it’s all these rednecks and their loud trucks,”  
“Yo! Preach to the fuckin’ choir, Pearl!” Amethyst and Pearl fist bumped, “Your house is up here right?”  
Pearl nodded as Amethyst turned off from the main road and drove to the curb alongside the apartment building, “Don’t you want to park in my spot?”  
“Huh? I’m just dropping you off, right?”  
Pearl’s smile shined through the night, “I thought you would want a cup of coffee?”  
Amethyst’s eyes grew bigger and she shifted her car out of park into drive and sped into Pearl’s spot in the parking lot, pulling out the ignition key as soon as it was parked, “You sure your bed is big enough for both of us?” Amethyst asked as they walked from her car to Pearl’s apartment.  
“I made sure to get a king size bed out of the lease, so I’m pretty sure it will be big enough. If not, my couch is pretty big,” Pearl explained as they entered the building.  
After a short elevator ride to the seventh floor, Pearl unlocked the door and allowed her guest in, as she closed it behind her with a “Do Not Disturb” notice on the door handle. It was the weekend after all, they had all the time in the world.

* * *

The morning sun dimly shined through the closed curtains of Pearl’s bedroom. Pearl felt the light in her eyes, and she shifted in and out of slumber until she properly awoke in her partner’s embrace. Pearl felt sticky, sore, and tired, and the humidity in the room from their sweat along with the smell made it unbearable to even lie in bed, but feeling Amethyst hold her close, where she could feel her heartbeat through her bare breast, made it all worth it.  
But the smell was getting to her.  
Pearl opened the curtains to her window and opened it to the city slowly waking up. The sounds of vehicles driving across the highways, and the birds whistling to each other filled the once silent bedroom. She looked down one of the apartments below her to see a large nest of birds that had made a window their home, and watched the mother feed its brood whatever mix it had found.  
“I think your ass is my favorite thing to wake up to,” she turned and saw Amethyst groggily getting up.  
“Your boobs in my face are my favorite thing to wake up to,” Pearl leaned against the window, taking in the view of her girlfriend, “Did you sleep well?”  
Amethyst walked out of bed up to Pearl to give her a small kiss, “The best sleep I’ve had in my life,” she looked out the window and watched the outside world, “You’re not worried about someone trying to peep on us?”  
The thought hadn’t occurred to Pearl. She started every morning by leaning out her window to take in the view, but always with a nightgown on. Not buck ass nude. So upon hearing those words, she made a motion to cover her breasts with her right arm, just in case someone could be peeping.  
Amethyst really didn’t care and just looked out the window, bearing herself for the world, “You’ve got quite the view. Rents not cheap I take it?”  
“It was leased to me. Well, not to me,” she came back to her thoughts, “This belongs to Rose. She leased it for thirty years so she would never have to get a hotel. Then she gave it to me when I was offered the position as a swim coach. For the next fifteen years, I’m staying here.”  
“Shit, was this Rose loaded out the ass?” Amethyst asked.  
“She always had enough money. I never knew where she got it from, but she always made both of us happy. When she died, she split her fortune up between me, Greg, and her little Steven,” the memories of that child in Greg’s arms, how happy he was, “I gave my part to Steven.”  
The two women stood side by side, silently watching the town carry on its day. It was very gradual, but eventually Amethyst brought her arm around Pearl and pulled her close, while Pearl put her arm on her shorter partner’s shoulder.  
“The first thing you did when you saw me was fall into the pool,” Amethyst shook her head and sighed, “That joke is so obvious and I’m not gonna even try and make it.  
Pearl remembered falling the pool very clearly, but was confused about the joke Amethyst was referring to, “Wait, what joke?”  
“C’mon, you know the joke!”  
“Amethyst I don’t know what you’re talking about,”  
“Pearl don’t be trippin’!”  
“I don’t think me falling in a pool is a very funny joke,”  
“No, the joke is you were falling for me,”  
“Well of course. You surprised me and that made me fall in, again you’re making fun of a serious predicament I was in,”  
Amethyst laughed at Pearl and shook her head,”Oh god, Pearl! You’re too much!”  
“Hey you sluts! There’s children in these streets!” a man from down below screamed up at them.  
Pearl transformed into red and retreated from the window while Amethyst remained in view, “Yeah?! So what! These babies are gifts from God, and I’ll fucking show ‘em off to the world if I want to!”  
“Fuck yeah, titty lady!” another dude approved of Amethyst’s actions.  
“Amethyst please get out of the window!” Pearl called for her girlfriend to stop this voyeurism show.  
“Alright, alright,” she suddenly found the urge to smell herself, “Oh god, I smell awful. Hey you got a shower? Maybe want to go for round two while we clean ourselves?”  
Pearl, without a word walked to the door to her bathroom and showed off the pitifully small shower, “Do you really want to shower in that tight a space?”  
“TBH, yeah,”  
Pearl’s face was frozen in surprise for a few moments before the sinful thoughts crept into her head, “You’re on.”

* * *

**The Monday**

* * *

Lapis and Sadie were once again waiting for Dr. Amethyst to show up. Five minutes had passed and they expected another five minutes would pass before she would appear as usual, so they had to kill the extra time.  
“What’s going on with you and Peridot?” Sadie started a conversation to pas the time.  
“Nothing much, still haven’t told her about what’s happening this Summer. I don’t even want to think about how she’ll react to that,” Lapis sighed, “But on the bright side, we’re gonna have a lot of fucking fun on that beach.”  
Before their conversation could continue, the door opened and their teacher for the very first time the entire semester, did their teacher finally arrive at a time earlier than late as shit. Rather, she was just late.  
You can only go up when you’re at the bottom.  
“S’up, fam! I hope you all had a lovely weekend! But now it’s time we hit the equations, and we gotta hit them hard! So I hope you’re all ready!”  
Lapis noticed while Amethyst was coming in, she was wearing a new necklace. One that had a large pearl on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.... hey guys! It's... been a while. What like, three months?  
> I should explain myself. The universe has kinda handed my ass to me on a silver platter. I don't want to get too into it, as that's not what you're here for. But I was very busy with work and college and there were a lot of days where I just wasn't feeling this chapter.  
> I am happy with how this turned out, and I'm very hopeful that the represenation of a Tejano or Mexican-American family, at the very least makes someone happy. I learned a lot about Mexican-American culture after taking two classes, and this does take place in San Antonio, so hey, there should be rep for those demographics.  
> Diana Amethyst is a Tejana woman, and she's proud of her roots.  
> Despite that, I can't speak a lick of Spanish. I think I made that clear a few chapters ago, but I had to use Google Translate for the Spanish dialogue. I hope it was adequate as I wanted bilingualism to be fairly important to this chapter.  
> There were a few references here and there to some internet stuff, but also referencing a few of my friends. How that one old guy goes, "Come on Coach what're you teaching them!" is an actual thing my grandfather has yelled at my sister's basketball team... while the coach's dad was sitting behind us. Bless that man.  
> But there were a few references to a certain discord I'm a part of. The Lapidot Cafe. I can't give out invitations, but if you hit up some of the mods I'm certain they'll be glad to welcome you to it. We can all meme together there.  
> So I think the next chapter should be soon. ish. I will try to get it out as soon as possible without rushing it.  
> Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed that Pearlmethyst chapter and the appearance of the Famethyst. I'm gonna go to sleep now.
> 
> And yes, those tidbits about Phil Collins are indeed true.


	21. Chapter 21

**15 Years Ago ******

* * *

“You mean they started throwing bottles at you?! Hahahaa! Get out of here!”  
“We were playing Stevie Wonder but the second they heard my guitar, those cajuns start lobbing whiskey bottles at us!”  
“You weren’t hurt right?”  
“Oh no, but we needed the cops to get us out of there,” the rocker sipped a bottle of moonshine, “Bossier City people may hate every type of music that’s not country or western, but they make some damn good ‘shine. You want a taste?”  
“Gimme!” the pink-haired lady took his bottle and drank a few sips of the alcohol before gagging, “Ugh! This is awful!”  
“What? It’s moonshine, how can ya hate it?” the rocker looked over to the girl sitting alone next to his van up the hill, “Hey Pear! What about you? You want some, ‘shine?”  
She pretended she didn’t hear him, but Rose answered for her, “The only thing she drinks is wine.”  
Greg took the moonshine out of Rose’s hands and drank the rest of it, “Then what do you like drinking?”  
“Hmmm,” she laid down on the grass, “I guess I like anything!”  
“But you don’t like moonshine!” he laid down beside her, “It’s been a while since I’ve been this close to home.”  
Rose looked over to her companion, “I’m guessing you don’t visit home a lot?”  
Greg let out a short laugh, “To keep a long story short, the last time I saw my parents was over ten years ago when they kicked me out.”  
She turned to her side to face Greg, “That’s awful.”  
He shook his head, “Don’t worry over it. They didn’t wanna,” he paused to belch the moonshine gas, “Oof, sorry. Uh, they didn’t accept me for bein’ me,” he forced a smile, “I could only get my guitar and a few shirts. It was raining too. I tried begging for one more night, but my,” he stopped himself and shook his head, “The man who raised me threatened to call the cops if I didn’t get lost,” he looked into Rose’s eyes, “Then I smashed his car’s windows and gave him a reason,” he sat up and looked down at the water, “Sorry. Got too real there.”  
“No, don’t apologize,” Rose’s gentle hand felt like heaven had descended on Greg’s shoulder, and her voice was the trumpets of the angels, “I like it when you’re real.”  
Somehow, every time without fail, she could bring him out of his lowest points, “Why are you like this Rose?”  
“Wh-what do you mean, Greg?”  
He put his hand on her shoulder and gazed at the meteor shower, “Don’t worry about it.”

* * *

**College Freshman Year Second Semester ******

* * *

“Oh c’mon, that’s just unfair!” his son’s voice awoke him from the half-sleeplike state he had been in for the past hour.  
He got up from his couch and looked around at the piles of clothes, trash, and cans thrown about everywhere. If maid service still came to their house, he was sure that they would demand their eviction. He set his feet off the couch on the floor and rubbed his nose while he was wondering who Steven had over.  
It occurred to him that he should check to see who he invited over. He knocked on the door to his son’s room, “Come in!” he heard his voice call to him.  
He opened the door and saw Steven sitting between Connie Maheswaran and the girl he had brought over a few weeks ago, ‘Penny’ he thought her name was, “Hey, schtooball! What’s going on here?”  
“Hello, Mr. Universe!” Connie waved her hand while covering her eyes.  
“Hey, Connie. Uh, why are you covering your eyes?” Greg asked.  
Steven looked at his dad and laughed, “Because you forgot to put on a shirt, Dad!”  
Greg realized this truth, “Oh crap, be right back!” and he shut the door to find a clean shirt.  
Peridot had her eyebrow raised from what she just witnessed, “Steven, is your dad alright?”  
“Huh? Yeah! Why do you ask?”  
“Your dad always seems a little,” Peridot looked for the word that would offend Steven the least, “Off.”  
“Yeah, he seemed a little different than he usually is,” Connie commented.  
“He has to work late nights,” he looked down and let out a deep breath, “He was probably drinking again too,” Steven spoke quietly.  
The air became a lot different than before, when Peridot was just beating Steven at a video game turned into two people outside looking in to Steven’s life. Despite being in the heart of his home, they felt far and away from their friend.  
The atmosphere briefly went away when the knock on the door came again, “You can come in, Dad!” Steven called.  
Greg opened the door to review the situation, “Hey! What’s happening, gals and pal!”  
“It’s going well, Mr. Universe!” Connie waved to her best friend’s father, “Nice shirt by the way.”  
Greg looked down at his shirt, just noticing what he put on, “Heh. Yeah, this was a Beach Boy’s shirt. I got it at Venice Beach when I played with this band I travelled with ‘em for a Summer,” Greg explained, “You guys just playing a game?”  
“Me and Peridot are playing Smash,” Steven answered.  
“Excuse me? I think you mean, I was destroying you!” Peridot joked.  
Greg was filled with joy that Steven found it so easy to make friends that he could hang out with and have playful arguments like the one he witnessed. For years he worried that Steven wouldn’t have a normal life with being homeschooled, but from a young age Steven found it effortless to make friends with everyone. When he still travelled everywhere, they would stop at gas stations, and Steven would start chatting with truckers about the crazy stories they experienced on the road.  
He had to accept that wherever Steven would go, a new friend would be made. Though this didn’t make him stop worrying.  
“You know what, Olivine?!”  
“What, Universe?!  
Greg paid attention back to the skirmish and wondered what was going on. Steven and Peridot had their eyes locked in place like they were about to engage in ritualistic combat, “Final Destination!” they shouted in unison, “No Items! Three Stocks!” they both reached for their controllers and looked to Steven’s TV, “FOX ONLY!”  
Greg came into the room to look at what they were going on about, seeing two fox character kicking and shooting each other on the ground and in the air. A hundred things were going on at once, and Greg found it hard to keep up, “Man, I remember when video games were just yellow faces eating dots and ghosts. Jeez, times have changed,” he looked to Connie, “Do you know what’s going on?”  
Connie shook her head and adjusted her glasses, “No, I just like to watch them play.”  
Greg watched one of the fox characters kicked off the stage and exploding off stage, and his son cried in despair, “NOO!”  
Peridot on the other hand, laughed smugly, “Hee hee, only two more stocks, Steven!”  
“Yeah well you’re at one-hundred-twenty percent, Peridot! You won’t be laughing for long!” his son declared.  
Greg heard his phone ringing in the other room and excused himself from the function to answer, “Hello? Greg Universe speaking.”  
“Have I mentioned how much I hate your name, Mr. Universe?”  
Greg looked to Steven’s room and chose a quiet corner to speak, “What do you want, Yolanda?”  
“Since this isn’t official business, I won’t reprimand you for not referring to me as Ms. Diamond,” Greg rolled his eyes listening to her schlock, “So. How is Bianca?”  
“If you want to know so bad, why not ask her?”  
“Tsk tsk. No need to be so confrontational, Mr. Universe,”  
“Just get to point, Yolanda,”  
“All I wanted to do was remind you that your inspection is within a week. And if my agency does not deem you fit to raise Steven, well. I think you know what will happen,”  
Greg’s breathing intensified and he clenched his fist, “Now you listen here. You’re not going to take my son away from me. I am Steven’s father, and I’m the best person to raise him,” he didn’t raise his voice, but his fury emanated off of him like steam.  
“We’re all entitled to our opinions, Mr. Universe,” he wanted to scream, but he knew that’s what she wanted, “Have a nice day. Oh, and tell Bianca I said hi.”  
The phone was hung, and Greg let out his breath. He rubbed his eyes and took deep breaths to relax himself, “You’re cool, Greg. You’re cool,” after every breath he let through his body, the squall inside was quelled more by calm waters until he was a man he was comfortable with.  
“Mr. Universe?” he turned from his corner to greet the one who interrupted his meditation, “Are you alright?”  
He smiled through his beard, “Sometimes you meet interesting people who’re really good at Buddhist Meditations, and teach you these calming methods,” he recalled the old man he hauled from Kokomo to Indianapolis, “Anyway, uhhh, Penny right?”  
“Peridot. Peridot Olivine,” the unamused face said everything.  
“Oui oui!”  
The unamusion turned into a frown, “I’m Irish and Norwegian.”  
“Oh,”  
“Well. How’s the match with Steven going?”  
“We, took a break so I can get us some water,”  
“Oh sure!” Greg reached into the makeshift kitchen and pulled a few water bottles from the fridge, “You kids play nice! Or I might have to break up the fight,” he playfully flexed his muscles while handing water to his guest.  
“Ha, ha. Yeah. Thanks,” she took the water and walked to Steven’s room, stopping to look at the old rocker, “Hey, Mr. Universe.”  
“What’s up?”  
“You’re, you’re alright. And,” she paused to find the words, “You matter a lot to Steven.”  
Peridot opened the door to Steven’s room and rejoined the festivities, leaving Greg with a warm feeling in his heart. He smiled and shook his head, “Thanks, Peridot.”

* * *

A statuesque woman looked out the window of her mother’s car, and saw the city beneath the highways, “Are you sure about this, ‘Universe’ fellow, mother? My agent can find me a guitarist.”  
“Exactly!” a woman half her size nudged her with her elbow, “You can get ANY guitarist. But trust me, Garnet. This guy’s the real deal!”  
“Really? When did you hear him play?”  
Ruby put her hands behind her head to reminisce, “I was in a bar just before I was shipped off. The band playing sucked ass though. God they were horrible, but the guy playing guitar. This guy with shaggy ass hair is the only one decent on guitar. They were playing Free Bird, and god the drummer couldn’t play for shit!” she shook her head laughing, “They were so bad, beer didn’t make them sound good. So me and my buddies were gonna walk back to the barracks when the man on guitar, starts playing Free Bird. For three whole minutes that man captivated every drunk motherfucker in that bar,” her mind cast herself back to that time, “And if that poor excuse of a man, Greg Universe was able to play like that back in the nineties, who knows what he sounds like now.”  
“You don’t sound like you particularly like this fellow,” Garnet commented to her initiate mother.  
Ruby crossed her arms and thought about that statement, “Don’t hate him. Didn’t care enough to find him when I got back from Kuwait. Didn’t know he was in San Antonio until I started asking around,” she looked up to her giant of a daughter, “Don’t tell him I said that though.”  
“Soooo, you’re thinking that someone you knew from years ago is perfect for playing guitar in my next album?”  
“Hey,if it turns out he sucks ass, then you can just hit up your agent for whatever guitarist you need. I just thought, that as your mother, I should help ya whenever I can!”  
Garnet put her arms around her mother and hugged her, “Thank you, mother. It means a lot to me that you care this much about my music.”  
Garnet had a smile filled with love, Ruby had a frown of discontent, “Alright, alright, get off me, save the mushy stuff for mom,” she pushed her daughter off of her and sat still for a few moments until she hugged her daughter, “Don’t worry about it.”  
Garnet looked out the window and pushed her shades up, “So what bar are we heading to?”  
“Place called the Blue Diamond,”

* * *

Greg Universe was in the middle of getting ready for work; he put on his work shirt on over a tank-top and a pair of jeans that had only been worn once that week. He started checking off everything that he needed in order to be ready for both work and to leave Steven in a state of being where he would be ok on his own. While Steven and his two friends were playing a game together he asked what kinda food they wanted, with Steven and Peridot both wanting Chinese while Connie wanting Korean. After a bit of persuasion from Steven, Connie switched her answer from Korean to Chinese.  
“Hello? Can I get two orders of orange chicken, one with noodles and one with rice, and a General Tsao’s with noodles,” Greg ordered in his phone, hanging up when the order was confirmed. He pulled out a twenty and a five dollar bills, handing them to his son, “The twenty is for the order, make sure to get the change back but the five is their tip, can you do that for me?”  
“Yeah no problem, Dad,” Steven nodded, “What time will you be back?”  
Greg grabbed his son and raised him up for a big hug, “I won’t be out too late. But that doesn’t change the fact you should be in bed by ten.”  
Steven put up a pouty face, “C’mon, dad.”  
“No coming on and no butts, schtooball,” Connie, when are your parents coming?”  
“They should be here around eight,” she answered.  
“Can I hitch a ride with you?” Peridot asked, “I don’t have enough for a bus ticket.”  
“You can use some of the change from take-out to pay for a ticket,” Greg lent Peridot some future money.  
Greg checked the time, and saw it was half until 5:00 P.M, “Alright, I’ve got everything I need. Steven! I’m heading to work!”  
“See you in the morning!” his son called back to him, and the old rocker left their shared motel room and locked the door. He walked down the steps to a van he had kept since his uncle lent it to him. It was at that point that he realized that he never returned his uncle’s van. And it was also at that point that he realized that if his relic from Woodstock uncle hadn’t kicked the bucket, he probably wouldn’t be too keen on the new paint job he’d given the van.  
He climbed into his car, briefly looking behind to see all of his music equipment and the futon he kept from his nomadic days. He turned his ignition, his car hiccuping into life before it was drivable. He reversed out of his parking spot and drove onto the street in front of the motel he lived.

* * *

Her assistant, Benita Perez knew how things worked around the Blue Diamond. There were days where Bianca Diamond could properly function and she could run her bar. But for the other three-hundred days of the year, she would sit at her desk either on her way or already passed out drunk.  
Today was one of those days. Through her bangs, Benita watched her boss pop open a bottle of gin and take a sip from it before sitting at her chair, “What’s happening tonight, Benita?” she asked after a long drink.  
The petite woman looked through the itinerary, “It should be a normal night. We have the same band as last week, the Toad Men. Holly should be able to keep things in line on the floor.”  
Her boss groaned and slumped over on her desk. Benita shook her head and left her boss alone to attend to business.  
The assistant walked onto the main floor of the Blue Diamond, a rather simple, if poorly-lit establishment, with two bars on opposite ends of the room. In-between were a dozen or so tables for people to get a better seat to enjoy whoever played on the stage. On the other side of the room opposite of the stage were a line of booths, one end reaching a wall, and the other stopping at the main entrance.  
The Blue Diamond was a fairly popular bar for the part of the city where it was. It offered cheap drinks and food, and there was always a band playing on stage. The place felt like it belonged more to Austin than it did to San Antonio, but the people drinking didn’t complain, and neither did the local bands wanting their first gig.  
Benita wished that Bianca took charge more often than sixty-five days a year, because she absolutely hated Holly Blue Agate. Whenever she saw the deplorable woman, she whispered obscenities under breath. Words that were so appalling that if they were used them, Archive of Our Own would have to take down this fic. Probably.  
“Fuck this cunt,” was likely the nicest thing she said about Holly. Benita watched the manager chewing out one of their employees with long blonde hair and bangs that covered his eyes, “Martin this is the fourth glass that you’ve broken this week! If this continues, I swear to god ‘you can find yourself another job!”  
“I’m sorry, Holly it’s just-  
“How many times, do I have to tell you,” pausing for emphasis, “TO NOT CALL ME-  
“Holly people are staring,” Benita interuppted her and the scene taking place.  
Holly looked over to the group of patrons that had looked over to the bar. The manager awkwardly smiled and waved to them and walked away from the bar to attend to other business.  
“I was going to discuss the itinerary with her, but I guess she’s too good for that,” she quietly complained, “What glass was she talking about, Martin?” he pointed to the glass at Benita’s feet, “Clean this up. And ignore what she said about getting fired. All terminations are up to Bianca.”  
The petite woman walked through the bar as Martin cleaned up the broken glass, passing by a dark-skinned woman with a tall head of black hair finishing up serving a customer drinks, “How is everyone tonight, Ali?”  
“They’re as thirsty as usual,” Ali Tippet answered, “How’s Bianca?”  
“Probably drunk,” she answered while walking out of the bar to the main floor. She passed by a person with a poofy, brunette afro and a mouth that could naturally smile all the time.  
“Is there anything else I can help you guys with?” Yuri Sanchez asked, as cheerful as they always were.  
The tan, blonde woman not too far from Yuri was equally as cheerful with the customers, and the customers seemed to enjoy Jane Thompson’s company, though Benita cynically assumed it was for more lecherous reasons.  
She tried avoiding eye contact with the customers, despite knowing that no one could see her eyes. Benita wasn’t a people person to those she did not know and did not care to know, which is why she didn’t want to be the manager when Bianca had asked her so many years ago. She didn’t want to be responsible for people nor for the cur that would complain incessantly about the most innocuous issues. All she desired was to be at Bianca’s side. Nothing more and nothing less.  
Besides Holly Blue Agate seemed more than content to deal with the never-ending battle against unsatisfied patrons. At least in Benita Perez’s eyes.  
Speak of the devil. While she was passing by two women serving drinks, both with the last name of Amethyst, Holly was walking backstage while complaining, “Where’s Universe? God, that good for nothing deadbeat never shows up on time and those fucking Toad Men are never here all at once!”  
Benita followed her and casually asked, “Is Greg late again?”  
“Hmph! Not late but I prefer if he was a little early so we could start getting set up without bugging the customers when most of them are here!”  
It seemed like the heavens themselves wished to contradict Holly, as Greg Universe appeared backstage from the backdoor, “Uh, did I come in at a wrong time?”  
Before Holly could even speak to her employee, Benita started giving him the low-down for the night, “Normal night as usual. Start getting the stage ready for the Toad Men to play.”  
“And double check your sound checks!” Holly ordered, “Last night the sound was off and the bass was too intensive.”  
Greg nodded and started getting to work on the sound equipment, starting a small conversation with Benita, “So, how’s Bianca?”  
“Same as usual. Drinking,”  
“Oh,” and with that Greg gave up on talking to Bianca Diamond’s assistant.  
An hour after Greg had arrived, the Blue Diamond was getting livelier, though still nowhere near as busy as it got when the sun would get down in two hours. Daylight savings always changed how people went out because the sun would hang around until 8:30, an ungodly hour to have sunlight.  
No person wanted to go out into the Texas heat while the sun was beating down an unrelenting barrage of stroke-inducing heat, so restaurants were more active during night hours than they usually were when time was normal.  
But apparently we have more daylight savings months than normal months, so I shouldn’t be calling it normal.  
Greg Universe was finishing up getting the sound system ready for tonight’s music. All he needed now were the Toad Men to do sound check. Deciding that he had done everything he’d could without them, he sat in a lonely corner with a bottle of water to drink while he waited for the band.  
As he waited, he let his mind wander.

* * *

**15 Years Ago ******

“Ken I help y’all?” a middle-aged woman in a diner uniform asked a group of three sitting at a booth.  
“Uh, yeah, I was just wondering if you had a pregnant wife discount?” Greg Universe asked rather cheekily.  
The waitress was not amused, “No, there ain’t no pregnant discount. Ken I take your order?”  
“Oh, Greg!” his wife giggled, “I’ll have the BLT.”  
“Same here,” Greg answered, “What about you, Pearl?”  
The woman across from them quickly glanced through the menus, “The turkey club for me.”  
Their waitress took their menus, glaring at Greg while she walked away, “I don’t think she likes me,” he quietly chortled to his wife and friend.  
“You can’t catch a break with southerners,” Rose joked.  
While they laughed over their antics with Kansas minimum-wage workers, their companion asked, “So, Rose. Have you gave any thoughts to what your child’s name should be?”  
The pink-haired woman looked down at her stomach and placed her hand on where she could feel her child, “We’ve given it some thought. If it’s a boy, he should be named Steven.”  
“And if it’s a girl, we’ll name her Nora,” Greg felt his wife’s belly, a warm smile on his face.  
Pearl mostly let things happen, and followed Rose and Greg wherever they went, only voicing her concern on occasion. This was one of those times, “Are you sure you should be going to Canada? Is it safe for you to be out there in the cold? I mean, you’re seven and a half months pregnant, Rose! I, I,” she stopped speaking when Rose’s hands held Pearl’s.  
“Don’t worry about it, Pearl. We’ll be careful, and we’ll keep this kid warm,” she tried to comfort Pearl’s worries.  
“Yeah, don’t worry about it, Pearl! This lady won’t be in the cold for longer than a minute! Besides, we’re only gonna be in Calgary for two weeks and we’ll be back in the States!” Greg explained their plan.  
“Then we’ll be in Seattle and we’ll have a new Universe,” Rose finished explaining, looking away from Pearl and instead into her husband’s eyes.  
Pearl was a follower, and she would follow Rose Quartz to the ends of the earth.  
She still loved her with all of her heart.

* * *

Greg laughed at that memory, but remembering the outcome only made him think, “I could use a drink.”  
The backdoor opened before he could grab one, and in came the band the Blue Diamond had hired to play for a month, the Toad Men. A large, bald man with a mustache-goatee combo and a baseball hat walked in backwards carrying the drumset case with help of a tall dude with long brunette hair that made him look like Loki from the Avengers. After them was a man of average height with hair covering his left eye carrying two guitar cases, and lastly was a nerdy-looking guy with glasses and a ‘fro carrying a single guitar case.  
They were the Toad Men, a band that had started in Boston but slowly made their way south and were heading west until they reached California. They played pretty good, and Greg figured that if they kept going, they might make a deal with someone. But for now they were playing at whatever bar that wanted rock music.  
“Hey guys, how are you doing tonight?” Greg struck up a conversation with them.  
“It’s so hooooooot,” the one with the glasses, (who was named Ryan, their rhythm guitarist,) complained as he helped get the drumset out of its case.  
“Did you guys get that drums tuned?”  
“Yes, but god it took forever! Had to go to two places to get it tuned and it wasn’t cheap!” the bald one (named Juan, but some call him Johnny) explained.  
“Had to use our half our paycheck from last week to pay them off,” the one with the bang over his eye, (who was named Lewis, the man on bass and vocals) explained.  
“So now we’re living on ramen!” the one with long hair exclaimed. And he is Ted. He was their lead guitarist.  
“It’s the vice we all live. Anyway, let’s get you guys ready!”

* * *

An old Cadillac limousine pulled up to the Blue Diamond, and neither the driver nor Garnet weren’t too impressed with the establishment, “Mrs. Govender, are you sure about this?”  
“If you think this is my first rumble in a seedy bar, you’ve got another thing coming,” Ruby declared.  
“I’m not worried for your sake, ma’am, I’m worried what your wife will do to me,” he showed his hand shamelessly to his employer’s wife.  
“And. What if someone recognizes me?” Garnet asked.  
The driver looked to the tall woman and back to Ruby, “She has a point.”  
Ruby took to rummaging around in the glove box until she found a pair of reflective aviators, “You’ll be invisible with these on. And besides, you’ll have me! If I took out a tank, then I can handle any rabid fan.”  
There was a part of Garnet that wanted to disagree with her mother after witnessing what lengths people would do to come within ten feet of her, but she might have taken that as a challenge.  
Their driver stopped close to the entrance to let out his passengers, but while Ruby walked toward the entrance, both Garnet and the driver agreed at the first sign of trouble to leave as soon as possible. Their limo went to find a parking spot, and Garnet caught up with her mother. She held the door open for Ruby and followed her inside where she heard the music from the band on stage. Garnet couldn’t identify the song being played, but she noticed some real talent in the band on stage, though not like what her mother had told her.  
“Is that the fellow you’re talking about?” she pointed to a guy on guitar that looked like Loki.  
“Nah, that ain’t him. Kids way too young. Fuckin’ hell, I was told he was here,” Ruby looked through the crowd of people to try and find her old friend.  
One of the workers approached Garnet and glanced at Ruby, “I’m sorry, but we have a rule about ch-  
Garnet covered their mouth with her hand and whispered in his ear, “If you value you your life, please don’t call my mother a child.”  
She backed away from the tender and allowed them to speak while Ruby skeptically looked at Garnet but shrugged the thought away, “Anyway. I want a booth with a good view of the band,” she ordered.  
“Of course! Right this way!” their cheerful smile returned and he guided them to a booth against a wall, “So what will you be having?”  
“I’ll take a mojito,” Garnet requested.  
“Whiskey, light on the rocks,” Ruby ordered.  
They went to retrieve their orders and Garnet turned to her mother to ask, “Why do you try so hard to be a stereotypical vet?”  
As they were waiting for their drinks, the mother and daughter chose to listen to the band. They had started playing a different song, and Ruby was still looking for her old friend, “I coulda swore that this was the right place.”  
“Maybe your friend left? You did say he was a drifter,”  
“Shit, maybe you’re right. Man, I really wanted to help you,” she rested her head against the back of the booth, “It’s just. When I married your mom, you were already grown up. I.... I never felt like I was your mom, just. Just someone who was with your mom,” she stared up at the ceiling, shaking her head, “Man I’m not drunk enough to be talking like this.”  
“Hey. Look at me,” Ruby looked back at her daughter as she was taking off her sunglasses, showing off her red and blue eyes, “I don’t care that you didn’t raise me. I care that you make Sapphire happy. I care that you were there for me. And I care that you worked this hard to find me a guitarist,” Garnet smiled at her mother before putting her sunglasses back on.  
Ruby was beaming, “Shut up! Young lady you’re grounded for making me feel this way!”  
The mother and daughter laughed at each other as the tender before came back with two glasses, one of whiskey and one of mojito. Ruby wanted to complain about how there were too many ice cubes in her whiskey when her eyes trailed to a shaggy-haired yet still bald man working on a device on stage. She narrowed her eyes on him and asked the tender, “Hey, who’s that guy up there?”  
They glanced to the stage, “Oh him? That’s our sound technician!”  
“Ok, but what’s his name?”  
“I think his names Greg,”  
“What’s his last name!?” Ruby was getting frustrated with the tender.  
“Uh. Why do you wanna know?” the tender was getting nervous.  
Garnet wanted to stop him, but she was too late; Ruby had erupted.  
“Listen here, you pencil neck!” she stood on the table and pointed her finger on his chest, “I didn’t get shipped out to Kuwait so i questioned by little shits like you! So when I-  
“Shout out to the little lady yelling at our very own Yuri,” Ruby shifted all of her fury from Yuri to try and find who called her out on the microphone. Being called a little lady at any other time would have thrown her into an unstoppable wrath, and at first she did take that first step, until she recognized who it was, “Alright, our next song is another original by the Toad Men, it’s called, ‘It’s Storm Eagle, I know.”  
“Oh! It’s Storm Eagle, I know! OH! IT’S STORM EAGLE, I KNOW! OH!” for a change of pace, the drummer, Johnny was providing vocals.  
“It’s Storm Eagle, don’t you know?” Ryan sang his part.  
“Yes I know, it’s Storm Eagle!”  
“IT’S! STORM! EAGLE! I! KNOW!” all of the Toad Men sang together before going into guitar solos.  
Greg checked on the sound before he made his way off stage to his old friend. He passed by Yuri who stopped to warn him about the woman he was going to greet. Greg assured them not to worry about him.  
“So. Have you come to drag me to Uncle Sam?” Greg offered his hand to his old friend.  
Ruby snorted and slapped his hand before shaking it, “Please! A poor excuse of a man like you wouldn’t make it to the recruiter!”  
The man came close and responded, “And a warmonger like you wouldn’t make it anywhere except the battlefield.”  
Greg regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. He was about to apologize when Ruby looked into his eyes and nodded, “Well. I have to admit you’re better at insults than you were back then!” The two shared a laugh as they joined Garnet in their booth, “So, Universe how’s your life been?”  
Greg sat down across from Ruby and Garnet, glancing back and forth between them and the band, “Oh you know. Raising a kid in a motel room while I work at a bar until five in the morning. Slowly going bald, got a drinking problem, and I haven’t slept in a bed for five years,” Greg’s life tory condensed into two sentences, “What about you?”  
“Got married and had this lady be a part of the contract. Say hi, sweety,” she paused to let Garnet wave, “Struggling with PTSD, anger issues, and the three fingers I lost in Kuwait,” she flipped him off with one of her prosthetic fingers,” Greg snorted at that, “Mind if I treat you to a drink?”  
“Nah, Holly will get on my ass if I drink while working. Hell, I think she’s on her way to chew me out right now,”  
“Then how about I offer you something else,” she swallowed her whiskey in one shot, “You know who my daughter is?”  
Greg looked to her statuesque daughter, who lowered her sunglasses to show off her red and blue eyes, “Garnet Govender,” she stuck her hand out across the table, “My mother has told me that you play guitar?”  
“Garnet? The singer?” Greg asked while shaking her hand.  
She giggled, “Precisely,” her low voice oozed flirtation and intimidation.  
Ruby knew exactly what she was doing; Sapphire would do the exact same thing to her, “She’s been looking for a guitarist for her new album.”  
“Some of my songs have been verging on soft-rock. So I thought, why not go full on rock?” Garnet explained, “I was going to ask my agent for help with finding a guitarist, but-  
“She insisted,” Greg guessed.  
“I merely suggested you,” Ruby defended herself, “So Universe. What do you think?”  
Greg ran his hand over his bald head and through his mane, thinkin the offer over, “Be a part of a band again? Going on tours? I think I’m too old for that.”  
“You chickening out, Universe? When we met, that was all you talked about! Joining up with bands, playing music, and travelling the world. What happened to that?”  
“I already lived that dream. I spent years being a roadie for bands. I went all over the country,” he looked down at the glass of whiskey and reconsidered Ruby’s offer, “Hell, I raised Steven for a few years on the road,” he kept silent on the part where Child Services stopped him from bringing him along, “But that’s been years. I. I don’t know if I could go back to that kind of life anymore. And besides, I still have my kid to look after!”  
Garnet hadn’t expressed her thoughts, opting to hide them behind her sunglasses. She went over Greg’s words and thought of a way to convince him, “I never said you’d have to tour with me. I needed a guitarist to help me with my album.”  
“Oh? Well, if that’s all you need then where do I sign?!”  
Garnet raised her hand to signal a pause, “But first. I need to hear how you play,” she lowered her sunglasses to wink at the old musician.  
Greg looked back to the Toad Men and nodded his head, “Sure. I could take over for Ted for a little bit. Did you have any ideas for a song?”  
Before Garnet could answer, her mother had already picked something for her, “Dream On by Aerosmith. I love that song!”  
Greg looked to the four men on stage, knowing that none of them had the voice for singing the higher parts of the song, “I don’t think any of the Toad Men are up to snuff for that.”  
A figure stepped out of the both next to theirs, an older man of average height with a wild head of gray hair, and an outfit just as flamboyant as his hair “I’ll sing it.”  
“Steven Tyler?! What are you doing here?!”  
“Oh me and the boys were just getting a drink,” Steven waved his hand over to his table. Greg and Ruby leaned over while Garnet looked over the booth to see Aerosmith and a fat guy drinking salsa all sitting in one place. Needless to say, they didn’t have anything to say.  
“And you’d want to sing Dream On?” Greg asked.  
“Yeah, but you’ll need some equipment. Hey, Joe!”  
From behind the booth, Joe Perry appeared and handed his guitar over to Greg, “Treat her nice, man.”  
Greg looked over the legendary guitar and back to its wielder, “Thanks, but where were you keeping this?”  
Joe Perry ominously laughed and withdrew from view.

* * *

The patrons of the Blue Diamond conversed amongst themselves and sipped their drink as they waited for the next song by the Toad Men. Holly Blue Agate surveyed the main floor as her employee Greg fiddled with the sound system for whatever he was planning. She preferred when things didn’t have any surprises, and she didn’t hide how annoyed she was with Greg throwing a wrench in the schedule. Nevertheless, she still allowed him to carry on with whatever plan he had in store for the Blue Diamond.  
“Greg usually doesn’t work on the sound system while a band is on stage,” the bejeebers was spooked out of Holly when Benita calmly remarked on the situation.  
“Christ, don’t scare me like that, Benita!” the manager complained, “Yeah. Greg says that he’s got a special guest. Don’t know who it is, but Greg says it’ll be worth the five minutes of waiting.”  
“Interesting,” was all that Benita responded with.  
A few moments later and the lead guitarist for the Toad Men, Ted spoke into the microphone, “Uh, testing?” the numerous faces glared at him, “Uh. Hi. Um, our next song is our cover of ‘Dream On,’ by Aerosmith, with guests Greg Universe on um, my role, which is lead guitar, and our other special guest, Steven Tyler.”  
The two men walked on stage, with Steven’s presence bringing in a thunderous applause. The Toad Men were in awe of the mythical singer fronting for them but they kept their composure. Greg was still getting over the surprise, but he was used to being around bigtime musicians like Steven back in his roadie days.  
Steven took the microphone from Ted, but the long-haired Bostonian briefly took the mic back to establish, “He’s the singer of Aerosmith, in uh, case you didn’t know,” he returned the microphone and hid himself away offstage.  
Garnet looked to Greg, eager to hear how her mother’s old friend played music, and to see if he was who she needed for her album.  
Up on stage, Greg and Steven shared a glance, with the old rocker giving a look of approval. Greg felt the guitar neck in his left hand and the pick in his right.He glanced to the Toad Men and Steven, “I think it’s time we blew this scene, get everybody and the stuff together. Ok three, two, one let’s jam.”  
Greg started strumming along with Ryan a simple four-note measure that repeated itself for several moments. If there was anything that Greg could give the rhythm guitarist credit for, is that he was great for keeping a tempo without a beat. Throughout the whole time they played their guitars, Steven Tyler was nodding his head to the notes. He had heard this song a million times before, and even if it was another band, he knew every note and beat like the back of his hand.  
Nevertheless, he still found himself impressed when Greg flawlessly replicated the brief solo that Joe had perfected decades ago. When the final note of his solo was over, the man himself knew what he had to do.  
“Everytime, I look in the mirror,” just from hearing his voice was enough to quiet everyone in the Blue Diamond. They turned their attention to the ancient rocker, and kept their focus on him until the end of the song, “All these lines on my face getting clearer. The past is gone,” something about those lyrics, they struck a chord inside Greg Universe. They unearthed emotions and memories he had long thought buried.  
The Past is Gone, and yet, the image of Rose Quartz lingered in his mind, “It went by, like dusk to dawn. Isn’t that the way? Everybody’s got their dues in life to pay.”  
Everybody does. So why was he still hung up on her?  
“I know, nobody knows! Where it comes and where it goes! I know it’s everybody’s sin, you have to lose to know, how to win,”  
Greg knew that more than anyone. The countless nights he went to bed hungry just to feed Steven. How he collapsed during a gig he was so hungry. All so that his child could live a happy life. If Steven was happy, then all of the times he had lost would have been worth it. The win that he’d always wanted. What he’d left Louisiana for.  
“Half my life’s in books written pages. Live and learn from fools and from sages,” Steven Tyler nodded his head to the guitar strumming and the cymbal shots Johnny laid down, “You know it’s true, oh. All these feelings!”  
“Come back to Rose,” Greg thought to himself.  
“Sing with me, sing for the years! Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears! Sing with me! Just for today!”  
“Maybe tomorrow, the good lord will take you away,” Greg quietly muttered to himself.  
While his fellow guitarist continued the regular strumming, Greg started playing more elaborate melodies. This was where he was supposed to impress Garnet. Greg had played this song many times, for other bands and for his own son. It was one of the first songs he had taught himself how to play, and though he had mastered it before to where it was easy, this time was easily the hardest.  
“YEAH! Sing with me! Sing for the years! Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears! Sing with me, just for today! Maybe tomorrow the good lord will take you away!”  
Every note was fingered along. What seemed chaotic to an untrained ear was crazed precision to a player. Among the audience, Ruby nudged her daughter, “See what I tell ya? This guy’s the real deal!”  
“Dream on! Dream on! Dream on! Dream until your dreams come true!” with every time Steven sang Dream On, he, Greg, Lewis, and Ryan head banged to him and the guitar riffs.  
Greg strummed the guitar along with the beats of the drummer behind him, performing more melodies just before their singer resumed, “Dream on! Dream on! Dream on! Dream until your dream come true!”  
The only two things Greg focused on was the tempo and his own playing. His fingers rapidly dashed over the guitar neck just as Steven Tyler screamed on, “Dream on! Dream on! Dream on! Dream on!” for a brief moment, he smiled down at the floor, just as he was about to show everyone in the Blue Diamond why he was Steven Tyler, “DREAM ON! DREAM ON! DREAM ON! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”  
Though everyone had heard him sing like that before on the radio numerous times on the radio, this was the first time that anyone in that bar heard his signature style of singing. As he nearly ended his legendary scream, the Blue Diamond cheered.  
“Sing with me, sing for the years! Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears! Sing with me, just for today! Maybe tomorrow the good lord will take you away!”  
For the final verse, all of the members of Toad Men and Greg sang with Aerosmith’s singer, “Sing with me, sing for the years! Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears! Sing with me, just for today! Maybe tomorrow, the good lord will take you away!”  
Greg, Ryan, and Johnny ended the song with the last remaining notes, culminating in Lewis making a gong noise in the microphone. And as that gong-mouth-noise reverberated through the bar, the two guitarists played the last notes.  
When their song was finally over, the patrons of the Blue Diamond, the people that had poured in to see what was going on, and everyone who worked at the bar erupted in cheers. Greg was used to cheers like that, either for him or for the bands he had worked for. But he wouldn’t deny that he didn’t mind the glory.  
He looked over to the people he had played the song for. While Ruby was cheering with the crowd, her daughter offered only a single thumbs-up.  
Greg handed the guitar to Steven as he was talking to the Toad Men, “Let me tell you guys, I think you all could go real far. Hit me up sometime this week and I’ll get you guys in touch with some suits!”  
Greg didn’t hear much of how they planned to celebrate. All he knew was Steven was gonna keep singing with the Toad Men, and that drinks were on him, “Glad you guys, caught your break. Don’t blow it,” he muttered to himself.  
As he walked back to Garnet and Ruby’s booth, the Toad Men started playing Toys In The Attic, keeping the flow of customers that had came from last song going until the whole bar was filled to max capacity. That’s how things usually worked at the Blue Diamond. If there was a band no one knew about, or no one playing at all then the place was practically a ghost town, mind you the regulars who’d show up regardless. But get a real famous band in the Blue Diamond, and then they’d have to start turning people away. Happened every once in a while, either Greg calling up some buddies for a favor or Bianca using some of her own connections to get a big shot in her Diamond.  
That night they were fortunate to have Steven Tyler show up and be drunk enough to want to sing for free.  
Greg sat back down in front of Garnet and Ruby, “So. How was that?”  
Garnet removed her sunglasses and looked him in the eye, “You certainly play the part,” she sipped what was left of her drink and rested her head on her left hand, “I’ll have to speak to my agent, but as far as I’m concerned,” her right arm extended over the table, “You’re hired. You’ll be paid like a session musician, about seventy dollars an hour, and though my agent wouldn’t approve of this, I’ll be sure you get a cut of the royalties which includes album and concert sales.”  
Twenty years ago, and Greg Universe would have accepted that offer without a second’s thought. He wanted to take the offer, but he had to ask more questions, “Where will you be recording your album? Not here I imagine?”  
Not the answer Garnet had been anticipated but she answered anyway, “I was planning on heading back to Los Angeles when Summer started. Would that be a problem?”  
The old man cast his head back against the back of the booth, “It’s Steven. Well. He’s happy here. He has friends all over this town. That Connie girl and him are inseparable,” he laughed remembering the playful argument they had over a book’s ending, “There’s not a doubt in my mind that he could easily make friends in LA. But I don’t think that’s fair to him,” Greg rose from the booth, “Is it alright if I think it over a little bit?”  
Garnet had pushed her sunshades up, and while not looking in his direction, “Not a problem. Give it all the thought you need.”  
Greg took her advice almost immediately and started thinking about that offer, “What if I left Steven with someone?” he thought of Steven’s face, one that reminded him more of Rose than it did himself, “And not see him for months on end? Could I really do that?”  
But not only playing for someone again, and helping write music. Ever since he learned how to play guitar he wanted to play his own music and get paid for it. Was this his opportunity, and did he just walk away from it?  
Seventy dollars an hour was tantalizing on its own, but royalties on an album? That would set him and Steven for at least five years. Every step he took away from Garnet and Ruby made him want to turn around and accept that offer.  
“Hey, Greg,” the old rocker was pulled out of his thoughts by his boss, Holly Blue Agate.  
“Oh, hey Holly!”  
“It’s Ms. Agate! For the last time!” she admonished him, with a few customers taking notice and wondering what was going on, “Anyways, there’s a clog in one of the toilets,” she handed him a plunger, “You might want to hold your breath.”  
“Wait, I thought I was off bathroom duty?”  
“Look, we’re all busy, and the sound is fine, so the way I see it, you have the free time to clean the clog,” she walked back to the bar before she could let him protest.  
Greg looked down at the plunger, “Is this what I want? Is this where I want to spend the rest of my days?” he looked to the wall and saw Holly’s employee of the month portrait.  
“Hey Holly!” the manager turned around to see her employee sticking the plunger onto her portrait.  
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” she screamed, her voice louder than the Toad Men.  
Greg hung his work shirt on the plunger handle. He looked to his coworkers and his boss, and gave them the two-finger salute, “You guys take care of yourselves,” he walked back to his future, briefly turning around, “And Holly! When you’re done cleaning the toilets, I’m gonna need a couple of glasses of whiskey!”  
Practically every person who worked in the Blue Diamond applauded him. Benita watched from a corner and quietly clapped, and the Toad Men stopped briefly stopped their performance to cheer him.  
Greg sat back down in front of Garnet and Ruby, “So about that job offer?”  
Garnet smiled and offered her hand again, “I look forward to working with you.”  
The two shook hands, beginning a long, productive relationship that both would look back on fondly.  
“Same here,” Greg answerd, “I just need some time to get Steven settled somewhere he’ll get taken care of.”  
“Take all the time you need,”  
“YEAH!” Ruby cheered, “Aren’t you glad that I introduced him to ya?!”  
“Yes, yes, thank you, mother,” Garnet smiled at her mom.  
Jane walked over to their booth and placed a coupe of glasses of whiskey in front of her former-coworker, “Here’s your drinks. I’m gonna miss you, Greg,” she kissed him on the cheek.  
Greg grew a warm smile from that kiss, “I’ll miss all of you too, Jane. Glad I met y’all.”  
The newly hired guitarist raised his glass, “How about a toast? To you, your music, and your new album,” Garnet and Ruby raised their glasses up to his, “Let’s make this new album so good, everyone will know Garnet’s name and her music.”  
They clinked their glasses together and drank.

* * *

**14 Years Ago**

* * *

“Rose! Rose! C’mon, you can’t give up now!” his voice was choking, and he didn’t have the strength to hold back his tears, “You can’t leave us here. He, Steven. He needs his mother!”  
The woman he had loved more than any other. The woman that had such a warm and colorful face, now felt cold and drained of color. The woman he had followed for two years from Delaware to the Canada. The woman he planned to spend the rest of his life on. The woman that had just given him a beautiful child.  
Was leaving.  
Rose’s hand weakly rose to Greg’s eyes to wipe a tear away, “Greg,” it was a whisper at most but it bought her husband’s full attention, “Take care of our little Steven. Give him the happiest life he could hope for,” even when she felt so weak, she still had the strength to smile, “How happy you made me, Greg. I want you to make him just as happy,” her hands slowly reached to hold her husband’s hand, “My rainbow is in your hands.”  
Greg witnessed her eyes for one last time, as they closed forever. And what little strength Rose had diminished, until none remained. Yet even in her eternal slumber, she still smiled.  
From the other side of the house, he heard his son crying. Greg rose from Rose’s side and looked back at her, “I’ll see you again.”

* * *

Greg Universe woke up to a skull-splitting headache. He groaned and rubbed his head in a futile attempt to make it go away. When he realized that what he was a hangover, he mentally slapped himself across the head. He had already dranken far too much the night before, so he should have known better. But it still didn’t change the fact his headache was murder.  
“Hey, Steven. Can you grab me an aspirin?” usually when he was hungover, he would call for Steven and then fall back to that half-asleep state, and he was, until he realized his voice bounced off the walls.  
Greg opened his eyes and instead of the brown leather couch he had slept in for years, was a wall of gray concrete, “Oh no. Please don’t tell me.”  
He rose from what he was sleeping on and saw a set of bars keeping him inside what he knew was a cell. He felt his pockets, but remembered that whatever he would have been stripped off of him when he was taken to wherever he was. As he was thinking over his options, his mind jumped to Steven.  
“HELLO!? Is there anyone here? I need to know if my son’s alright!” he called out from the bars to anyone that could hear him, but the only response was the echo of his own voice.  
Greg backed away from the bars and sat back down to calm himself. He tried to remember what happened last night and what he had done to get himself in jail, but nothing was coming to mind.  
“God, this is why I need to give it up,” he admonished himself, “Last time you did this, Steven was alone for two days,” Greg closed his eyes and cursed himself.  
Suddenly from one end of the room he heard a door open and footsteps approaching him, “Greg Universe?” an officer called out his name.  
The man jumped from the bed to the bars, “Yeah that’s me!”  
“Step away from the bars, please,” Greg obliged, and the officer continued, “Someone paid bail for you,” he explained as he opened the bars to his cell.  
This surprised Greg, “Who was it?”  
“Some tall lady. Didn’t catch her name,” he answered as he slapped some cuffs on him, “They only got you out of jail, but you still have to see a judge on Monday.”  
“I’m guessing I have a DUI?”  
“You guess? You were too drunk to remember it?”  
“Brother, I can’t even remember what happened last night,”  
“Jesus,” he spoke under his breath.  
The officer brought him out to the open area of the police station, everywhere he looked there were cops standing around talking with either civilians or other officers. He tried to find anyone he recognized anyone.  
“Well you’re free to go. Be at the courthouse on Monday morning and don’t leave Bexar County until then,” the cop patted him on the shoulder, “Stay safe, citizen.”  
Greg looked back at him and snorted, “You too, man.”  
He couldn’t spot anyone he knew so he decided to walk out of the police station and find a way home. As he walked down the sidewalk, he heard his name called out, “Have I ever mentioned how much I hate your last name?” he turned to see the last face he wanted to see.  
“Yolanda,” he gritted her name through his teeth.  
“Yes, it’s a pleasure to see you as well,” she opened the door to her sedan, “We need to talk,”

* * *

**To Be Continued ******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, how're y'all doing. Sorry about the delay but this chapter was pretty hard to get out the door. Plus I just made it really really long. This has been the longest chapter of Fragments, and I have a feeling that's not gonna stay that way with how my writing has been as of late.
> 
> This should have been here sooner, but I've been dealing with a lot of stuff. 
> 
> but yeah, this is gonna be a two-parter! Next chapter should be out sometime this month, won't make you guys wait two or three months xD
> 
> If there are any errors, I'll probably find them when I reread them. But right now I want some Subway, eat fresh.
> 
> And by the way, if you want to know why the Zoomans had such odd names, well here is the origins of them!  
> Yuri Sanchez is Zooman Y-6  
> Jane Thompson is Zooman J-10  
> Martin Lockheed is Zooman F-3 (Name comes from Lockheed Martin F-35 Jet Bomber)  
> Ali Tippet is Zooman U-12 (Name comes from the commander of Tippet the man who commanded the HMS Ariel during the Battle of Jutland, which sank the German Submarine U-12, and Ali is the first name of Bono’s wife, who is the singer of U2)
> 
> And the Toad Men are supposed to be the members of BrainScratch Commentaries! Them being the Toad Men and their song Storm Eagle are references to their videos!


	22. Chapter 22

**College Freshman Year Second Semester**

* * *

In a corner of San Antonio, lightning struck the community college of Palo Alto. In the science department, a madman bellowed, “Gentlemen, behold!” Dr. Weird presented a small robot rabbit, “This will consume ALL vegetables! It is, the rabbot!”  
One of his students, Steve looked at the robot rabbit and asked, “Uh, what is it for, Dr. Weird?”  
The rabbot exploded, “WHAT HAS SCIENCE DONE?!”

* * *

“I know you better, than you think I do. Don’t worry, this is why I fell in love with you,” a woman’s singing backed by a piano and drums played from a simple sound system filled the air of a small bar on the eastside of San Antonio. It was a dreary place for men and women to drown their quenching sorrows.   
A middle-aged man, bald on top but with a long mane of hair sat at the bar guiding his finger along a glass of whiskey.   
“I’ve heard from my brother you were drinking at his place yesterday?” the bartender asked.  
“Yeah. What about it?”   
“He said he heard you were drinking at his friend’s bar the day before,”   
“Heh,” was all the drinker had to reply before downing the rest of his whiskey.  
“Have it your way. There are worse ways to die than drowning,”

* * *

**Nine Days Ago ******

* * *

In a room filled with suits and people in casual clothes, Greg Universe stepped up to face the music, “And today we’re hearing the case of Greg Universe,” the judge read off a paper, “Mr. Universe, is that your god given name?”  
“I had it changed when I was twenty,” he always had to explain this to any one official when they asked about his surname.  
“Do you regret it?” the judge stopped looking through his paper to look at Greg in the eye.  
“Only thing I regret is the people that keep asking about it,” Greg joked with him.   
The judge laughed at his joke and continued looking through his papers, “You have been charged with a DUI of drugs and alcohol. How do you plea?”   
“Guilty, sir,” Greg answered. He looked back to a pair of blonde women watching in the back of the court.   
“Very well. Five days in Chile Penitentiary, a five-hundred dollar fine, and a one month probation of your license,” the judge slammed the gavel loud enough for all to hear.   
Greg was escorted by two officers, and before he walked out of the court, he looked to the taller woman, “Thanks, Yolanda.”  
“You made the right choice, Greg,” she answered to him as her assistant organized sheets of paper that he had signed a few days ago.

* * *

“If happy times, are too few and far between. It’s a pity dear, we can’t erase the things we see,” Greg stared down at the empty glass while he listened to the Irish woman sing, “So disappear, vanish if you will. Just go before you’re swallowed up by bitterness.”   
“Listen, will you freaks quit following me around?” a bitter, New Jersey-accented man shouted from outside the bar.  
“LISTEN TO THIS! We are Americans, are we not allowed to get our drink on?!” an agitated, nasally voiced person shouted back.  
A man that looked older than Greg in a full pilot’s outfit and an aviator hat walked into the bar, followed by three men, “Listen. When I left Jersey, I thought I was done with all three of youse guys bullshit! I didn’t think you’d be here too!” he complained as he sat down at the bar, “Got any moonshine?”   
The bartender shook his head, “Sorry, pal. Guy already asked a while ago. I got whiskey,”   
“HEY! I need my vodka, and you better include the lemon wedge!” the nasally, middle-aged white guy wearing all-white shirt, pants, and a backwards baseball cap demanded as he and his accomplices joined their pilot acquaintance at the bar.  
“Pipe down, Shake!” a black man with a thick mustache-goatee combo and dreadlocks wearing slacks and a button-up red shirt yelled at his comrade, “Hey man, don’t mind him he just gets cranky when he doesn’t get his drink on,” he apologized to the old rocker.  
“It’s fine,” Greg muttered.   
“Hey, I know that voice,” the pilot turned to get a look at Greg, “Yeah, I recognize you! You’re Greg, right?”   
Greg narrowed his eyes on him, “Y-yeah? Who, who are you?”   
The guy got out of his seat to put his arm around Greg’s shoulders, “‘Ey c’mon, Gregory! You can’t forget ol’ Andy! We DeMayo’s never forget about each other!”   
Greg was too out of his mind to properly think and turned to the bartender, “Can you get me a prairie oyster? And can you make sure the egg is raw” and when he left to fetch the odd request he said, “Give me a minute, I need to sober up.”   
“Uh, ok. But uh, what’s the egg gotta do with being sober?” Andy asked.  
“Trust me, man. You don’t want to know,”   
The third person in the entourage that followed Andy inside the bar tugged on the mustached man’s shoulder. He looked like he was a few years older than Steven but he didn’t look similar enough to be the mustached man’s son, “Hey, Frylock. You wanna hook me up with a drink?”  
“Meatwad, I told you, when you’re twenty-one you can drink, but you’re still eighteen,” Frylock reminded him.  
“So? There’s white boys in Europe that get to drink when they’re thirteen, so why can’t I?”   
“Well, that’s because I’m a better parent than what those thirteen-year olds in Europe have,”   
Meatwad and Frylock looked at each other for a few moments before Meatwad spoke, “So are you saying you’re better at parenting than white people?”  
Frylock laughed, “Well we both live with Shake, so we know what that answer is.”  
“ARE YOU TWO TALKING CRAP ABOUT ME! I will contact the commissioner and have you both fired for disrespecting your commanding officer!”  
“Uh huh, well Shake that would be an actual threat if we worked for the police! We’re private detectives, you nimrod!”   
“Shove a rod up your own ass, Frylock! And where’s my beer?!” the bartender came back and handed Shake his drink, “Finally!” Shake drank the entire glass in one gulp and puckered his lips, “I like it but, it tasted weird. Like, I thought I tasted spit or something.”  
The bartender gave Greg a glass filled with tomato juice, vinegar, salt, pepper, hot sauce, and a raw egg underneath all of the ingredients,“What the hell did ya order, Greg?” Andy asked while his cousin stirred the yolk and the whiskey with a straw.  
“An Israelite told me about it when I was in Boston. Had to sober up for a show,” Greg answered. He held the drink above his head, and while he pinched his nose he swallowed the whole thing in one gulp.   
His fists slammed the glass on the table and he bowed his head on the wood. Greg had to stand to work out the muscles in his body while his mind shifted back into drive. He shook his head and looked out the window, and back to the group gathered behind him.   
“Can I have what he’s drinking? I want some of that,” Shake asked the growingly-begrudged bartender.   
“Andy?” Greg finally recognized his cousin, “Is that really you?”   
“YEAH!” the cousins hugged each other, patting each other on the back, “How long has it been? Like, twenty years?”  
“Twenty-two, I think,” Greg laughed, “Are you still living in New Jersey?”   
“Not anymore, brotha! I swapped out my old home for being nomadic like you!”   
“No kidding? How’s the flying treatin’ ya?”  
“Oh you know, I pee in the sky and wear skin tight pants, so that’s cool. I’ve been making deliveries for Amazon, y’know the big airliners with the terrible food and bitchy hostesses,”  
“Wouldn't know! Always thought driving would be cheaper than flying,”   
“Heheh! That’s right, you always liked that van!” the two cousins sat back down at the bar, “So what have you been up to? No one on your side of the DeMayo’s has heard what you’ve been up to!”   
“You know neither of my parents care about me, right?” Greg usually wasn’t a blunt person, but coupled with still recovering from a hangover and being asked about his initial family, he was as blunt as what the writer was smoking.   
“Ah shit, sorry, man,”   
“It’s alright,” he accepted his cousin’s apology with a light pat on the back, “But I’ve been travelling. Played in every bar in Texas, played on every beach on both coasts, and I’ve lived in more motel rooms than any nomad has done before,” Greg only slightly exaggerated the truth, “But the last few years I’ve finally laid down my roots in this town. I’ve had a kid for the past fourteen years.”  
“No freak’n way! Greg DeMayo, I never thought you’d have kids but you always surprised me! Who's the lucky lady?”   
“Well I got some things to say,” Greg smiled, “First, I’m no longer a DeMayo. Changed it to Universe when I figured out I could,” Greg pulled out his ID from his wallet to confirm his claim, along with a picture of himself and Rose Quartz, “She’s the lucky lady. But I haven’t seen her in a while,” he gave a short ‘heh,’ before continuing, “Fourteen years, as a matter of fact.”  
It was at this point that Andy was getting an idea on what state of mind Greg Universe was in, “Hey man, are you alright? You seem really down,”   
“He’s spent the last four days in seven different bars,” the bartender answered, “According to my brother and his friends.”  
Andy looked at his cousin inquisitively, “Hey I like to party too, Greg but four days in a row?”   
Greg’s face did not shift in emotion, and when he spoke, it seemed like the words were only appearing, “Hey, you gotta celebrate getting out of prison.”

* * *

**12 Days Ago ******

* * *

Greg looked outside the window, seeing the highways cut through both buildings and trees. Though Greg had lived in the city for a number of years, he didn’t like it as much as other towns he had lived in before. Only reason that he stayed was because of the job Bianca had offered him at the Blue Diamond years ago and that Steven had a lot of friends that he didn’t want to part with.  
He wondered if he should ask Bianca for his job back.  
“Mr. Universe! Miss Diamond will speak with you now!” Greg grated at the nasally voice of Yolanda’s assistant, Yvonne Piel.  
“You guys dragged me from the police station to your building, and you still made me wait half an hour,” he complained to her.  
“We were on lunch break, Mr. Universe,” Yvonne answered matter-of-factly, “Now please don’t keep Miss Diamond waiting,” her words slithered past her smug smile.  
Greg looked down at the assistant as she returned to answering phone calls and scheduling out meetings for her boss. He rolled his eyes and walked to the door to Yolanda’s office. Inside was the type of office he thought the devil would make his deals. And speak of the devil, there she was, sitting at her desk and going through documents, either signing them or leaving them for later.   
Before Greg could get a word in, Yolanda had already spoken, “Please have a seat, Mr. Universe. And don’t worry about the time, if everything goes accordingly, you should be out in less than ten minutes.”   
Greg sat down on the leather chair, the leather itself making a farting noise when he was moving down. Yolanda stopped what she was doing to glare at the guitarist, who meekly laughed, “Heh, excuse me.”  
“Right. So, Mr. Universe. I think you know why you’re here,” she signed one last piece of paper and pulled out a file from her desk.   
“To be honest I haven’t thought about it. I don’t really want to think about what you want,” Greg crossed his arms and looked in the Child Protection Services agent straight in the eye, “So if you want my answer, it’s no.”   
Greg had hoped that his defiance would have affected her, but her face didn’t shift. She would not buckle to his words, “So what do you think is going to happen to Steven while you’re sitting in jail for a month?” exposing the truth to Greg, was far more effective than any threat that Yolanda could come up with, “Do you even know where Steven is?”  
That thought had crossed his mind, but he hadn’t dwelled on it for long, “Uh, I think, uh. He’s at home. He’s fourteen, he can, uh. He can handle living by himself.”  
Yolanda nodded, “In a motel room. Correct?”  
“I mean. It’s unorthodox, but it’s how I’ve lived for all my life,”  
“And do you think Steven could live on his own in a motel room with an eviction notice?”  
The truth hurts because the truth is all there is.   
“What do you want, Yolanda?”   
“You’re going to serve a prison sentence, there’s no getting around that. And we will take custody of Steven,” Yolanda explained, “But after looking over Patricia’s will.”   
“Patricia?”  
“You knew her as Rose Quartz, I knew her as Patricia Diamond. Anyway, there’s a part of her will that states if anything were to happen to either you or her, custody of Steven would be given to Pearl Aragonite. This document is over fourteen years old, and both you signed this a few months before Steven was born.”   
“That’s right. Pearl insisted that she would take care of Steven,” he looked on the document to double-check, “Or Nora, as we didn’t know who Steven was gonna turn out to be yet.”  
“You two never used an ultrasound?”  
“Rose wanted to be surprised,”   
“That sounds like her. I still don’t know why she changed her name to Rose Quartz,” Yolanda sighed, “Well, back to business. If you agree to have Steven’s custody be given to Pearl Aragonite, I will pull some strings and have your sentence be,” she stopped to find the right word, “Less egregious. I can guarantee that you won’t have your license suspended if you choose to agree.”  
Greg nodded his head and reached for a pen. Yolanda slid a document for him to sign, but just as the ink was about to touch the paper, “Just one thing. Can you promise me that Steven won’t know about this?”   
Yolanda closed her eyes and nodded, “He won’t hear it from me. But a kid like him will figure it out sooner or later.”  
Greg signed his son away.

* * *

“May not be true to say that you would return one day, but in your present state, you may as well not be here at all,” Andy looked down at the bar, his eyes widened by the story Greg told. He pulled off his hat and rubbed his white-haired hat.  
“Shit, man,” Frylock muttered, “Putting a man in jail is one thing. Taking away his kid, what does he have left?” he shook his head and laid down a ten dollar bill, “Your next round is on me, man.”   
The barkeep took the bill and pocketed it, “Now there’s forty dollars left on your tab.”  
As the bartender cashed the bill, Andy stepped up from the bar to use the restroom, but to also emotionally recover from Greg’s story.   
“You wear a thin disguise, it’s from yourself you hide. Just take a look, we are heading for a fall,”   
While the truth continued to seep into Greg, he sat at the bar looking down at his empty glass. He wished that Andy and him reunited under better circumstances, or at least when he wasn’t drowning himself. As his eyes focused more and more on the glass in front of him, he slowly returned to ignoring the rest of the world. He didn’t hear Master Shake ranting about his new drinking tasting like spit nor did he hear the door to the bar opening.   
A young woman set two seats away from him and called the bartender, “Two bottles of Vodka, and a shot for the trip home,” she ordered. She looked over to Greg and joked, “You know what’s the best thing about this place? They charge extra for not checking ID”   
Greg’s focus turned away from the glass to the girl sitting at the bar, “What, do kids these days not use fake IDs?”  
“A fake ID gets the feds on your ass,”   
“That it does, but they can’t catch you if you run through a swamp,” Greg laughed, “I’ve never loved a ‘gator more than when he snapped that Fed’s ass.”  
The girl laughed at his story, “Man I would have loved to see that.”  
“So, do you have an ID on you? You need to be twenty-one to purchase alcohol and you need-  
“Frylock, you’re a private investigator, you know damn well that you can’t make an arrest,” Meatwad reminded him of their profession.   
“I guess you’re right, Meatwad,”  
“Hell yeah I’m right, now get me some damn beer!”   
While the trio of private eyes argued amongst themselves, Greg continued his conversation with the girl, “Mind telling me what’s got you drinking?”   
“Does a girl need a reason to get drunk?”   
“Girl doesn’t need a reason to drink. Getting drunk on the other hand, there’s usually a reason for it,”  
She looked away from Greg to the shot of vodka just placed in front of her, “Girlfriend problems. You?”  
“Son problems,”   
“Now presiding in this court of hip-hop! Justice, my rap forte! Judge, jury, bailiff, prosecuting D.A,” a Brooklyn rapper sang with the same piano and drums backing him, “Et ceteras, paraphas, my modus operandi! It’s carpe diem whether the fact or word is your way, comprende?”   
“Everything that she’s done to get better, might all be for nothing. And it will be my fault,” her voice croaked when she muttered fault, “What about you?”  
“I can’t raise my son anymore because I can’t control this,” a single laugh passed through his joyless face while he held his empty glass, “Now I can’t face him. I can’t bear with him knowing about my mistakes.”  
“I can tell you that he’ll figure it out. Take it from me, we kids know our parents fuck up,” she swallowed the shot of vodka in one gulp, “I don’t think your son will hate you if you talk to him. But if you keep him in the dark, he won’t ever talk to you again.”   
Her words were the first rays of hope he had seen in too long. He had to return the favor.   
She felt his arm lightly tap her shoulder, “I don’t know what’s going on with your girlfriend, but I think whatever she’s built up won’t be torn by whatever you’re thinking of doing,” his bearded smile warmed her, “It might upset her, but she’ll understand.”  
“You think so?”   
“Can’t be sure. I have no idea who she is!” he grinned.  
“The people versus, you ain’t no sensei. Teaching that style of word-play we got they regardless of what your friends say, they’re all disable! Stricken from the record and deemed inadmissible. And this long arm of the law grabs a mightier. Shoot dope lines first and ask questions later. The sentence of this live litigator, close the case tighter than the jaws of a ‘gator!.”  
The girl laughed at his joke, “Thanks for the talk. Didn’t know I needed it.”   
“It’s no problem, Miss. Needed to hear someone talk some sense into me,” he moved his hand off her should and offered a handshake, “Names Greg Universe.”  
She reached for his hand and shook it, “Lapis Lazuli.”  
“Lazuli? You know, I met a Filipino with that name in Delaware. Seemed like an unhappy man. Didn’t care about my music either,”   
“Was he in Beach City?”  
“Yeah! You knew him?”  
“He was my father,”   
“Oh,”   
“Listen! I’m tired of hearing about your problems! Unless your problem is getting your bra off, I don’t give a shit!” Master Shake showed his lack of empathy.   
Lapis stared at the private eye, and with a swift movement of her arms, she pulled her bra off from under her shirt, “Guess I don’t have a problem.”  
“Oh shit, Shake. You better not fuck with her,” Meatwad warned, knowing the power Lapis possessed.  
“I will fuck with whoever I please, you imbecilic child!” he drank another drink, “Why do these taste like spit?!”   
Lapis grabbed her vodka and bra, “Thanks again for the talk. Be seeing you!” she waved to the old rocker and headed out the door.   
“See you later, bra lady,” Meatwad waved to her, “Black was a good color on you.”   
“Stenographer that study law again, the jargon, let your counselor’s a barkin’ in hopes of a plea bargain. But when you read back verbatim, what they’re saying to persuade them, they realize exactly how I’ve played them. I come with the truth, whole truth and nothing but ‘cause the truth just as much as fuckin’ with lies will! I brew skill with free fills from now until plagiarizing MC’s get their flows distilled!” the rapper finished, and the Irish singer continued where he left off.   
“Baby I don’t die without you by my side. As long as you return, in to these arms that burn. Baby I won’t die, just take a look inside, into these eyes that burn! Come to these arms that yearn!”   
Andy returned from his visit to the restroom to Greg giving the bartender what was left of his tab. He noticed how upbeat he was compared to the minute ago that he saw him. He saw the smile through his beard, one that he hadn’t seen since they reunited. It certainly got him smiling again.  
“Well look at you! I take a piss and you’re already looking better than before!”   
“Andy, I hate to ask, but I need to ask for a ride. I need to speak with my son,”   
“Hey, Fryman! Can you do me a favor?” Andy asked the detective, “I don’t got a ride, I been going around with these guys.”   
“And insulting us while we do it,” Meatwad added.   
“H-hey! I’m still your buddy, Meatwad! I’m Andy, your old next door neighbor! So uh, can we still get that ride?”  
“Yeah, I guess so. For old times sake. And this guy needs it. Shake you coming along?”  
“Sure! I won’t like it tho! To the Aqua Patrol Unit!  
The five men left the bar with Meatwad nudging Greg, “Don’t worry man, I’ll be your Johnny on the Spot.”   
With all but the bartender gone, the song had finally reached its end. The drums and piano faded as that Irish singer sang the chorus one last time, “And the truth hurts, because the truth is all there is.”

* * *

It had been three minutes and Greg was already regretting his decision. While he was initially skeptical of the Aqua Patrol Unit, which was really a rusted, black 1995 Cadillac Fleetwood, he still went along with it. Then he heard the engine and wondered why a beat-up car had such a powerful-sounding engine. That wasn’t what worried him. What did worry him and his cousin was seeing Meatwad behind the wheel.   
“Alright, gentlmen. Buckle your seatbelts. This train makes no stops,” Meatwad punctuated his declaration by putting on a pair of aviators.   
“But this is a car,” Greg protested.  
Only the sound of the car’s engine prevented an awkward silence. Meatwad shifted the car into drive and stated, “Hush up,” and with a step on the pedal, the Aqua Patrol Unit roared down the street.   
“Oh god! What is this thing?!” Greg screamed.  
“Slow down, Meatwad! We aren’t in a race!” Frylock yelled.  
“I need to let these people know that I mean business,” Meatwad declared.  
The Aqua Unit got onto the highway, and Meatwad snaked around the other cars without using his blinkers.   
“Oh god, I think that lady just flipped us off,” Andy pointed to a minivan they had just cut off.  
“Oh yeah? Well let’s see how she likes this!” Shake reached from the backseat the remote microphone connected to the radio, “Listen here, assholes! We’re the Aqua Teen Hunger Force! If you assholes got a problem with that, then pull over and we’ll settle this like men!”  
Spurned by his challenge, nearly every car on the highway pulled over to the side, with their drivers stepping out to get a piece of Shake. Only they found disappointment as the Aqua Unit not only did not pull over but proceeded to drive even faster down the highway.   
“Shake! Are you crazy? You can’t take all those people on by yourself!” Frylock reprimanded him.  
“Listen. I said if they had a problem they should pull over, I never said we would!” Shake explained.  
“Now we got this whole highway to ourselves!” Meatwad cheered.   
As Greg attempted to get comfortable in the back of the Aqua Unit, Andy started a conversation with him, “So Greg! What are ya doing for work these days?”   
“Well, I used to work at a bar, but I got hired to work on an album in the Summer! Heading to California once Spring is over,”  
“What are you planning on doing until then?”  
“Not much. I got evicted from my home when I got out of jail, so I was gonna wait one month to get my license back and head to Cali. Do odd jobs on the way there,”   
“You wanna fly around with me while I do deliveries? I could use some help and company!”   
“Would you split your checks?”   
“Sure, anything for you, cousin!”   
After many near collisions and a five-second air time from driving off a hill, the Aqua Patrol Unit arrived at Pearl’s apartment building, but it didn’t seem like Meatwad was intending on slowing down. He drove headfirst towards the building, and only when he was halfway there did he turn the car. The Aqua Unit drifted across the road, cutting off dozens of cars when it stopped at the curb to the building’s main door.   
“And that’s how you do parallel parking,” Meatwad bragged while cutting the engine to the Aqua Patrol Unit.   
“Yeah well I hope you enjoyed your little joyride because I’m driving from now on,” Frylock took away his driving privileges.   
Greg stepped out of the car, “So how long are you staying in San Antonio, Andy?”   
“I don’t have to make another delivery for a few days, but hey! I can get you up in the air!”  
“Thanks for the help guys!” he waved to his cousin and the Aqua Teen Hunger Force.  
“Hey no problem, good luck with your son, man!” Frylock called while he got into the driver’s seat.   
The Aqua Patrol Unit drove back into traffic, tho instead of getting people annoyed with how reckless Meatwad was driving, people were annoyed with how cautious Frylock was driving. Much to the chagrin of Andy DeMayo.

* * *

For the past few days, Steven Universe had been adjusting to his new environment. Two weeks ago Pearl had come to his home and told him that he needed to pack everything that he owned into her car. He pressed her several times for answers, but the only thing she gave that seemed like a suitable answer was the eviction notice at his door. Every other time she changed the subject, either to how his studies were going or to criticize his father for allowing him to own a certain video game.   
When everything he owned was moved out of his home, Pearl drove him across town to her apartment where they spent the afternoon getting him situated with a room of his own. Because the TV in his old room had belonged to the motel, both Pearl and Steven worked to move the TV in her room to his. It was a bit of a struggle with the height discrepancy between them to keep the TV balanced, with Pearl holding the TV at her waist while Steven had to lift it up to this chest.   
Within no time, they both got Steven situated in his new room, finally having a place to sleep that he could walk around in. Despite this, he still asked, “Why am I here? Why does my dad want me to move in with you?”  
She wanted to tell him, more than anything. But her promise to Greg made her answer, “Greg’s going somewhere for a little while. But he shouldn’t be gone for long!” she knew how Steven felt. She knew that anyone his age hated to be denied the truth. To be treated like they needed protection.   
She felt horrible doing that to him.  
But he went along with it.   
While he stayed at Pearl’s apartment, he grew accustomed to living with her. He met Amethyst and the two quickly became great friends, especially after she whooped his butt in Mario Kart. He invited Connie and Peridot over a few times for video game sessions, and at one point, tho Pearl protested it at first, had a monster movie night with Lars, Sadie, Peridot, and Connie.   
She was even exposed to the holiness of Cookie Cat.   
But every few days, Steven would ask, “So what is going on with dad?”  
Every non-answer and subject change did nothing to stop Steven from wanting to know what happened, and Pearl knew it.   
Steven was sitting in his room, looking at the pile of video games he hadn’t yet organized. He stared at the cases and wondered what he should play that day. Nothing was really coming to mind or grabbing his attention, and he feared that he had come under the dreaded gamer’s block. A symptom where even if you have a hundred games staring at you, you have no idea what you want to play. It had been affecting Steven ever since he moved in with Pearl. He wanted to start Final Fantasy VII ever since he and Peridot had bought it in New Braunfels, but something was preventing him from playing it.   
He heard a knock at the door and from her room Pearl called, “Steven can you answer that for me?”  
“Yeah sure!” he called back.   
He walked from his room to the apartment’s door, unlocking the main lock but keeping the chain lock in as Pearl had instructed him when he first moved in. Through that small opening he saw his father.   
“Uh. Hey, Shtuball!”   
Steven abruptly closed the door to unlock the chain. When he opened the door, he practically jumped into his father’s hug, “DAD! I-I was worried about you!”   
Greg held his close to him, “It’s alright, Steven. Everything’s ok.”  
Steven looked up at his father, “Dad, what,” he wiped tears away with his arm, “What happened? Where were you?”   
Greg closed his eyes, and let Steven down. He got onto one knee to be even with his son’s eyes. With a heavy hand on Steven’s shoulder, he looked up from the floor into his son’s eyes, “I. I had drank too much, Steven,” he didn't mince words. He gave the his son the truth he needed, “I was pulled over and,” he released air from his lungs to lift the weight inside, “Because of my record, the Child Service people don’t think that,” no crying until the end, “I should be raising you anymore.”  
Both of them wanted to cry, but neither wanted to in front of the other, “So. What’s gonna happen? Can, can you still see me? I mean, can you still be my dad? What, what-  
“Hey,” Steven’s worries briefly stopped at the sight of his father’s smile, “No matter what happens, I’m still going to be your dad.”  
Steven hugged his dad, surprising him, but Greg returned the favor and embraced his son.  
From inside the apartment, the door to Pearl’s room opened and the woman herself walked to see the Universe's embracing.   
“Greg?” her voice interrupted the two Universe’s, “Are you alright, and oh god I can smell you from here!”   
Greg lifted his arm to smell but reeled his head back, “Oh god, that’s awful!”  
“I’d offer you a shower but right now it’s occupied,”   
“SORRY!” Greg and Steven heard Amethyst’s faint voice.   
“But, Pearl. You just got out of the shower, and I don’t think I heard the shower turn off so-  
“Anyways, Steven!” Greg ceased the search for a conclusion.   
“Dad!” he responded.  
“Are you gonna be alright, living with Pearl?”   
“Yeah, I think so. Me and Connie hanged out here a few times, and Aunt Pearl makes sure that I’m studying and doing my school-work. She even brought me to the school she works and I got to watch a diving competition!”   
Greg knew his son couldn’t ever stay negative for long. He would always find something cheerful to think about, and when the bad times were over, he would be as happy as ever. It was something that he picked up from Rose.  
“Seems like he’s already used to living with you,” Greg said to Pearl. He looked down at Steven, “Now. In a few days, I’m gonna have to say goodbye again.”  
“What? Wh-why?” Greg could tell that Steven had hoped that the brief time he had disappeared would be a once-in-a-lifetime event.   
“See, I was offered a job by a bigtime musician to help her write and record her album. But I would have to live in California starting in the summer, and probably for the rest of the year. And my cousin Andy offered me to be his copilot until I could get my license back.”  
Steven didn’t look very happy, but he seemed accepting of this, “So you’ll be gone?”   
Greg put on a smile and held his son in his arms, “I won’t be gone, Steven! I’m just gonna be away. I’ll talk to you whenever I can,” Steven seemed to be perking up at this, “And if anything happens, I’ll be here in a flash. Hell, I’ll ask the Flash to run me back here!”   
The thought of the Flash carrying his father across the US gave Steven a laughing fit, “What? C’mon, Dad, be serious!”  
“I am being serious, Shtuball! I met the Flash, we had coffee in Miami!” he joked with his son.   
Pearl had watched the tension between a separated father and son erase and return to how things were before, as if nothing had happened.  
“Greg, I’m happy that you came and I would love to invite you over for dinner, but,” she clasped her nose, “You really need to take a shower.”  
Pearl’s nasally voice did nothing but leave Greg and Steven Universe in a puddle of laughter. She only shook her head and joined laughing with them. As the three people tied to Rose Quartz filled the room with guffaws, Amethyst peeked through the door to check on who Pearl was referring to that needed a shower, and inform them that the shower was free. But instead, she saw three people laughing their guts out. She closed the door to hide from the oddness.

* * *

Greg did take a shower, and it was good. Being the first shower he took in two days, Greg became a different man. Well, he became a different man when he had the epiphany at the bar earlier that day, so really he just became different in the sense that he had a different scent. But as a man with a new-found smell, he enjoyed the rest of the day with his son, listening to him speak passionately about his favorite games and telling stories about what he and his friends had done. At one point, Greg sat down to watch Steven play through the opening of Final Fantasy VII while Pearl made arrangements for dinner to be delivered to her home.   
For the first time in a very long time, Steven and Greg sat down together and ate dinner. Before, they would occasionally eat lunch together, but due to the nature of Greg’s old job, he was never able to have dinner with his son. In fact, the last time either of them had dinner was the year before when Steven turned thirteen.  
Did that talk fix every problem that Steven and Greg had with each other? No, there were still rifts between them that both would spend months if not years trying to fix. In fact, the last day before Greg would start flying with Andy, Steven started a conversation about particular drinks his father consumed.   
“How about you and I make a deal?” Greg started his proposal, “My great-grandfather left me a bottle of moonshine,” he neglected to mention that his great-grandfather left his father the moonshine, and that the bottle was one of the many things he stole before leaving Louisiana, “When I come back, why not you and I share a drink of that? It’d be the first time I’d have a drink.”   
Steven raised his eyebrows, unsure if he should answer yes or no. Greg saw how unsure his son was and decided to give him an answer.  
“Well, whatever you decide on, I think that moonshine will be the next thing I drink when I come back home,” Greg patted him on the back, “I’m gonna miss you, schtooball.”  
“You’ll come back as soon as you’re done working, right?!” Steven asked, “You won’t disappear again?”  
Greg Universe looked down at his son and smiled through his beard, “I can promise you that as soon as my job is over, the first thing I’ll do is come back to see you.”   
Steven hugged his father one last time, “I’m gonna miss you.”  
“Heh. Me too, shtooball,”  
Steven let go of his father, and watched him leave Pearl’s apartment. When the door closed, Steven bolted to his room where he could get a view of the front entrance of the apartment building. He watched his father greet a man that looked like him and get into a car with three other men. The car’s engine roared and it drove out of Steven’s view in less than a second.  
Things were like before, but at least this time, he knew not only where his father was, but that he was happy, “See you, rock dad.”

* * *

Back at the bar and on its roof, the bartender stood against the sunset as the two beings shed their disguise. The larger being faced the direction of the Aqua Patrol Unit and flipped his middle finger, “I hope they can see this because I’m doing it as hard as I can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you're curious, the song that was playing throughout the chapter was called The Truth by Handsome Boy Modeling School. It's a really cool song, and the rest of the album is really good, and it's what's been getting me into hip-hop.
> 
> So I'm pretty proud that I got this chapter out within the same month as the last one. I hope that the Aqua Teen Hunger Force crossover wasn't offputting, but having Andy Demayo being voiced by Dave Willis, I can't hear anything other than Carl, so I thought it was funny to have them there. 
> 
> Next chapter is gonna be Peridot centered where she hangs out with some cool kids. I don't know when I'll get that out, because I plan to cram some weird shit into it. But you'll see what I mean when we get there. 
> 
> So this was chapter 22. You know what that means right? No? well it means there are four more chapters to this fanfiction! I'll see y'all later.


End file.
